When the German banking giant Wirecard collapsed in June 2020 amid a roaring fraud scandal, public opinion was shocked. The company, praised as the countrys innovative answer to the fintech industry of Silicon Valley, had been widely seen as a German miracle following recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. Its bankruptcy involved a massive state prosecution that sent shockwaves through world markets. To the astonishment of German and international observers, Wirecard executives were found to be involved in all manner of deception: direct falsification of accounts, fake cash-flows, re-routing of payments through non-existing shell companies, ghost subsidiaries. While forging profits, they had obscured a mammoth debt of 3.5 billion.
This…
Read the full article at: https://aeon.co/essays/finance-fraud-is-not-a-deviation-from-the-norm-but-a-reflection-of-it