Japan’s SoftBank to invest 900 million euros in Germany’s Wirecard

This file photo taken on September 18, 2018 shows the company logo at the headquarters of the technology and financial services company Wirecard in Aschheim near Munich, southern Germany. – German financial supervisor Bafin told AFP on April 16, 2019 it had filed charges with Munich prosecutors over alleged manipulation of financial technology firm Wirecard’s share price involving short-selling. AFP FILE PHOTO

BERLIN — Japan’s Softbank is to invest 900 million euros ($1 billion) in beleaguered German financial technology firm Wirecard, or a stake of about 5.6 percent, Wirecard announced Wednesday.

Wirecard, which specializes in payment processing, also announced the signing of a strategic partnership with Softbank, a technology and investment giant, to accelerate its development in Japan and South Korea.

Latest news: Wirecard and @SoftBank intend to form large-scale strategic partnership for #digital payment solutions. https://t.co/MCfdOQfbl6 pic.twitter.com/3DITG7kGZt

— Wirecard (@wirecard) April 24, 2019

Wirecard, the rising star of Germany’s finance sector, was shaken by a series of Financial Times articles earlier this year accusing the Bavarian company of making false accounting entries in the Asian region.

As a result, nine billion euros was wiped off the company’s value on the stock market, prompting BaFin, which supervises Germany’s financial markets, to issue a temporary ban on negative speculation on Wirecard.

An investigation conducted at the request of Wirecard by Singaporean law firm Rajah & Tann into charges of fraud in the fintech’s Asian subsidiary that was published last month did not find any “inaccuracies with material impact on the financial reports”.

The Rajah & Tann report released by Wirecard found no “criminal liability” in the firm’s head office but said “some local employees” could be held criminally responsible under Singapore law.

A local police investigation is ongoing in the city-state.

The firm was hailed as an early success story on the fintech scene when it started in 1999, providing electronic payment services, a niche then ignored by major German banks.

The company expanded with the boom of online commerce, ensuring the settlement of transactions to help professional customers such as airlines and online pharmacies.