Schirp law firm requests special audit Wirecard - Law firm Schirp on Monday called for a special audit of German payment company Wirecard, which faces allegations of fraud and false accounting, on behalf of a small group of shareholders.
Schirp law firm requests special audit of Wirecard
The headquarters of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions, is seen in Aschheim near Munich, Germany, on April 25, 2019. REUTERS / Michael Dalder
Schirp law firm requests special audit Wirecard
Wirecard was struck a year ago by allegations in the Financial Times (FT) that its Singapore office made false accounting records to increase its revenues.
The internal auditor EY investigated these complaints and provided Wirecard management with an irreproachable health check. The company denied the allegations and sued the FT, which is sticking to its information.
Thomas Eichelmann, the board member who oversees an external audit of Wirecard, was elected president after the resignation of 75-year-old Wulf Matthias, for personal reasons, Wirecard said in a statement on Friday.
"We want to clarify what is happening at Wirecard as quickly as possible," lawyer Wolfgang Schirp told Reuters.
He said a special auditor would review the balance sheets of partner companies in places like Dubai and Singapore and investigate allegations of accounting fraud.
The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung first reported on the plans of the law firm.
No one was immediately available to comment on Wirecard.
Schirp wants to call an extraordinary general meeting to advance a special audit. This would require shareholders representing 5% of the share capital to support demand. He said he currently represents 2.5% of the shares.
Last year, Wirecard called on KPMG to investigate the FT allegations. KPMG is expected to complete its work before the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Patricia Uhlig's report; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Thomas Seythal and Mark Potter
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Supreme Court of the United States issues a lower court decision that authorized recourse to the IBM pension fund
A man stands near an IBM logo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 25, 2019. To match the special report CHINE-CYBER / CLOUDHOPPER REUTERS / Sergio Perez / File Photo
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed a lower court decision that authorized legal action against managers of a pension fund for IBM Corp (IBM.N), employees focusing on allegations according to which officials did not reveal that IBM's microelectronics activities were overvalued.
The judges sent the case back to the lower court for further legal analysis. IBM is not a defendant in the lawsuit before the federal court in New York by the plaintiffs who participated in the IBM retirement plan.
Lawrence Hurley report; Editing by Will Dunham
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