German - century fraud: Missing 1.9 billion euros, Angela Merkel before the investigative commission

The company, aimed at providing online payment services, has been a topic for months due to an affair in which a serious embezzlement of money was discovered, and then after the escape of Jan Marsalek, one of the company's directors, who disappeared in June last year and was supposed to be in Russia.

And now it was the Chancellor's turn to answer the question of why she lobbied hard in public for the company just months before her final collapse, the discovery of a fraud that turned out to be the biggest in Germany since World War II, writes the Croatian newspaper Vecernji.hr, broadcast Periscopi.

Such a case damages Germany's reputation for business integrity and does not help that was soon revealed. Moreover, in media revealing this story, ties between politics and business were uncovered, followed by a wave of resignations and an investigation into possible criminal activity.

I didn't know at the time, Merkel said.

The administration claims Merkel did not then know there were some irregularities in Wirecard that were exposed after a 1.9 billion-euro hole was found in the company's balance. The problem is there are members of the German parliament who believe that in Wirecard's case, the German government was unilateral towards the company and turned a blind eye to allegations of business irregularities that evidently led to its collapse.

In Bundestag, Angela Merkel was asked why she cited the planned takeover of Wireard of a company in China during her visit to China in September 2019 and whether the company was backed by a senior official in her cabinet.

“Kancelara lobbied for Wirecard with the most powerful man in China,” said Fabio De Massi, one of the lawmakers who wants to lead the public investigation, thinking why it was such a priority for Merkel.

While Chancellor Merkel denied a mistake in connection with travel to China.

What has been known for Wirecard since September 2020 was unknown in 2019. There was no reason to think there were serious irregularities, despite articles in the press,” said Merkel.

All of this also opened the issue of German administration's kindness to entrepreneurship, which is often too soft.

In Germany you have to follow the rules, but if you don't, nothing will happen to you. The sentences are ridiculous, Stephan Klaus Ohme of International Transparency told Reuters.

Wirecard started 20 years ago as most financial services companies started. It was a good channel for those involved in online luck games and online betting or pornography. Instead of sending money directly from your credit cards or from your account, they are paid at Eisecard and then from them in online casino accounts or book makers, PornHub or a similar porn portal. Privacy should be guaranteed this way. In Wirecard, however, it was strange that the company quickly gained a reputation and became a story of German technology's success, so at one point it reached a value of 25 billion euros. It was not clear to anyone how online money service had been achieved. The company's shares were also listed in the stock exchanges.

The main player is Baron. However, as the company grew up, it was accompanied by accusations of business irregularities, which culminated in a series of investigative articles in The Financial Times in which signals appeared and published the company's internal documents.

A year later, the company went bankrupt, and Marcus Brown, its old director, resigned, but was arrested however. Jan Marsalek, chief operative, was fired, but escaped and still sought.

In bankruptcy procedures, 730 employees were fired, the company was disbanded and remaining funds sold for only 100m euros. There's a tragic figure in everything, Marcus Brea, who saved the company with his money at the end of the <x0-baloner possible-com”.

He managed to consolidate the company and directed it towards doing business with Internet casinos, bookmakers and pornographic sites. Not so morally, but with effective costs. But the interesting “practices -- ” of Faircard -- start as early as 2005, when the company goes public. This was not done on regular grounds, but vice versa, the company purchased InfoGie AG, which was ready to be removed from the list due to a huge drop in value, and thus took her place on the stock market.

True growth began in 2014 when filialles were established in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Turkey, a similar service was purchased by Citigroups and Eiseard began to operate in the United States, as well as in South America. And then Japanese giant SoftBank invested in Faircard 2019 and then the Chinese company AllScore Payment Services was purchased.

Just because of this recent purchase Merkel is now being questioned in public.

Her position is especially difficult because, apparently, her former Economy Minister Carl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is a baron and his wife is Otto von Bismarck's great-mother. Now how much Angela Merkel and others should be discovered in her office for counterfeiting the company's balance and other embezzlements.

There is no 100 per cent protection against criminal behaviour,” concluded Chancellor Merkel. /PERISCOP/