Wirecard investors target EY parent for 1.5 bln euros in compensation

Wirecard AG

06/04/2022 12:33

LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - European investor campaign group
Better Finance said on Wednesday it has set up a foundation to
help 30,000 investors recover the 1.5 billion euros ($1.64
billion) they lost when German payments company Wirecard
collapsed in 2020.
    Better Finance said the foundation has been set up under
Dutch law to target the global parent of EY, the accounting firm
which audited Wirecard's books.
    "The advantage of using a Dutch foundation opens up the
possibility of reaching a settlement with EY, including EY
Global, for all injured Wirecard investors in Europe," said Marc
Tuengler, managing director of DSW, a German investor group
which has teamed up with Better Finance to set up the
foundation.
    "The choice of a Dutch foundation offers options that are
not available under German law," Tuengler said in a statement.
    EY had no immediate comment.
    Wirecard, founded in 1999, began by processing payments for
gambling and pornography 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 hole
in its accounts that EY said was the result of a sophisticated
global fraud.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2NP2EJ
    Klaus Nieding, of Nieding+Barth law firm, said if EY in
Germany or globally is unwilling to settle amicably, then the
investors will go to court, with litigation costs covered by the
foundation. 
    ($1 = 0.9173 euros)

 (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
 ((huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 3326; Reuters
Messaging: huw.jones.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))