Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Effectiveness was lacking
Altmaier rejects allegations about Wirecard
In the multi-billion Wirecard scandal, the opposition sees major failures on the part of Minister of Economics Altmaier. He defends himself before the committee of inquiry and at the same time announces stricter rules for auditor supervision.
When it comes to clearing up the multi-billion Wirecard scandal, the opposition and the SPD also see political responsibility for Economics Minister Peter Altmaier. Altmaier has now defended himself against these allegations in the parliamentary committee of inquiry. The auditor supervision Apas, for which the CDU politician has the legal supervision, did not act too late. In view of media reports on accounting inconsistencies at Wirecard, a preliminary investigation was initiated in 2019, he said in the Bundestag. Apas boss Ralf Bose was also terminated after controversial deals with Wirecard shares. There is a labor law procedure here, the replacement is ongoing. Bose had admitted to the committee that he had traded in Wirecard papers while the work of the auditors at Wirecard was being checked.
After the Wirecard debacle, Altmaier is working on stricter compliance rules for the auditor supervision Apas. The CDU politician said the draft for a corresponding regulation was ready and only had to be signed. He had the impression that Parliament did not insist on legal regulation, but that a regulation would suffice.
The payment processor Wirecard went bankrupt in June 2020 after billions in air bookings became known. The Munich public prosecutor’s office is investigating balance sheet falsification, fraud, market manipulation and money laundering. Several ex-board members are in custody or on the run. The auditor EY, who has audited Wirecard’s balance sheets for years, is also criticized. However, the public prosecutor’s office assumes that Wirecard has cited incorrect figures in its annual financial statements since 2015.
Opposition sees political responsibility at Altmaier
The Green finance politician Lisa Paus said that, like EY, the Apas lacked a critical stance. Altmaier is politically responsible for this. Florian Toncar from the FDP added that Altmaier had let the Apas run too long, it lacks clout and effectiveness. “Failure to act can also be a mistake.” Altmaier received support in the committee from his party colleague Matthias Hauer. The minister could not be criticized personally.
The committee of inquiry also met in a closed session on a special report on the role of EY. Jens Zimmermann from the SPD said that the so-called Wambach report showed significant deficiencies in EY’s final exams in eleven points. Cross-party demands are made to publish the document. Zimmermann said that EY was stonewalling here and not releasing the documents – with reference to trade secrets. “Talks will follow,” added AfD politician Kay Gottschalk, chairman of the committee of inquiry.
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