Germany's Commerzbank sues EY for Wirecard losses

Wirecard AG

19/01/2023 15:42

FRANKFURT, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The German lender
Commerzbank  CBKG.DE  is suing accounting firm EY over the 200
million euros  ($216.12 million) in losses that it incurred in
the collapse of Wirecard, a bank spokesperson said on Thursday. 
    Wirecard's downfall two years ago shook the German business
establishment, putting politicians who had backed it under
intense scrutiny, along with regulators that took years to
investigate allegations against the payments company.
    EY was for years the firm that audited and certified
Wirecard's books even as journalists and investors raised
questions about its finances.
    The Commerzbank spokesperson said the case had been filed in
Frankfurt court in recent weeks.
    An EY spokesperson said "claims against EY for damages do
not hold up". EY assumes that the courts will also uphold this
position, the person added.
    The bank's suit is one of a number against EY regarding
Wirecard.
    Wirecard, founded in 1999, began by processing payments for
gambling and porn websites before becoming a fintech star and a
member of Germany's blue chip DAX index.
    It ended by filing for insolvency in June 2020, owing
creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro
hole in its accounts that EY said was the result of a
sophisticated global fraud.
    Manager Magazin first published the news of the lawsuit.
($1 = 0.9254 euros)
 (Reporting by Hans Seidenstücker und Marta Orosz; writing by
Tom Sims Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
 ((Tom.Sims@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220 133 645;))