Omni Bridgeway resolves to fund claims on behalf of Wirecard AG shareholders against Ernst & Young GmbH

Contact:
Marella Gibson
Chief Marketing Officer - Australia and Asia | +61 2 8223 3517 | [email protected]

LONDON, 28 July 2020: Omni Bridgeway announces that it has resolved to fund proposed litigation to be brought by shareholders of Wirecard AG against its auditor, Ernst & Young GmbH.

Such litigation will be brought in Germany by leading international law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.

Background

German company Wirecard AG was compelled to initiate insolvency proceedings in Germany on 25 June 2020. The catalyst for this inevitability was that its auditor, Ernst & Young GmbH, informed Wirecard AG on 18 June 2020 that no sufficient audit evidence could be obtained in relation to cash balances in trust accounts that were to be consolidated in the consolidated financial statements in the amount of EUR 1.9bn. A matter of days afterwards, Wirecard AG was then forced to acknowledge that the EUR 1.9bn in cash included in those financial statements probably never existed in the first place. The consequence of the recent actions of Wirecard AG is that the share price of Wirecard AG has dropped by over 95%. 

In these circumstances, shareholders have rightly turned their attentions to the auditor who has been in post since 2008. All of the audits of Wirecard AG have been unqualified. This is despite the fact that, over the last years, Wirecard AG has been the subject of intense scrutiny by shareholders, short sellers, journalists and regulators. Wirecard AG has also been the subject of two key external reviews – one by Rajah & Tann, a respected Singapore law firm, and the other by KPMG.

Providing an opportunity for Wirecard AG shareholders

Jeremy Marshall, Senior Investment Manager of Omni Bridgeway, said “Shareholders have understandably relied increasingly heavily on the audited financials of Wirecard. The nature of the Wirecard insolvency is such that it was inevitable that serious claims would be levelled against the auditor, and it is only right that we provide shareholders with the opportunity for redress, particularly where their prospects of a modest recovery against Wirecard itself are so limited.” 

What affected shareholders can do:

Shareholders who purchased shares in Wirecard AG since 1 April 2012 are encouraged to contact: