Wirecard Inquiry Probes Why Germany Missed Fraud of Century
- Parliamentary hearing presses chancellery insiders for answers
- Two-day meeting could set the stage for deeper investigation
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Germany’s blame game over Wirecard AG’s collapse is focusing in on the question of why authorities failed to take a harder look at the payments company before it became the country’s biggest accounting scandal in living memory.
Lawmakers grilled a top adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday in Berlin and will question finance industry watchdogs on Tuesday as the fraud that burned investors engulfs the country’s political establishment. If the closed-door hearings go badly, parliament may trigger a deeper investigation as the country prepares for the post-Merkel era with an election due next year.