DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Wirecard tried to destroy its whistleblower. Now, he's founded a startup to protect others who speak out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewBeing a whistleblower was antithetical to everything Pav Gill had done during his nine-year stint as a corporate lawyer. When Wirecard headhunted the Singaporean native to be its head of legal, Gill took up the position enthusiastically. Despite the fruitful outcome, the experience of being a whistleblower traumatized Gill. AdvertisementThis realization was the driving force behind Gill setting up his startup — Confide — a platform for 'internal whistleblowers' to raise issues within their organizations. AdvertisementGill anticipates that this model will work best for companies with over 50 employees, and ideally above 250 employees.

Persons: —, Pav Gill, Gill, foraying, Wirecard, Gill's, don't, " Gill, they're Organizations: Service, Allen, Business, Financial, Directive, EU Locations: Wirecard, Asia, Singapore, ESG

☆ Lawyer of fugitive Wirecard executive called to testify in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Michael Dalder/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A German court has called upon the lawyer of former Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek, who has been on the run since the implosion of the German payments company, to testify next Wednesday in Germany's biggest post-war fraud trial. Wirecard became the first-ever DAX member to file for insolvency in 2020, owing creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro ($2.13 billion) hole in its accounts. Marsalek, Wirecard's former chief operating officer, is considered a key figure in the Wirecard scandal and an international fugitive on Europe's most-wanted list. In July he had contacted the Munich court through his lawyer - although neither the lawyer nor authorities disclosed the content of this written communication. A court spokesperson said on Friday that lawyer would now be questioned as a witness in the case.

Persons: Michael Dalder, Jan Marsalek, Wirecard, DAX, EY, Joern Poltz, Sarah Marsh, Leslie Adler Organizations: Wirecard AG, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Aschheim, Munich, Germany, Marsalek

☆ Israeli private detective sentenced in US to 6-2/3 years for hacker-for-hire scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Michael Dalder/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. court on Thursday sentenced an Israeli private detective to 6-2/3 years in prison for organizing global hacking campaigns against thousands of people including climate change activists and critics of German company Wirecard. In sentencing Azari in federal court in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl said the hacking had a "devastating impact" on its victims. "Your Honor, I made a mistake," Azari said in court through a Hebrew interpreter before the sentence was handed down. Prosecutors did not allege any link between Azari and Exxon, which denied any connection to Azari or his hacking campaign. Three victims who spoke in court, including two climate activists, said they still wanted to learn his clients' identities.

Persons: Michael Dalder, Aviram, Azari, John Koeltl, Prosecutors, Barry, Luc Cohen, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Wirecard AG, REUTERS, District, Prosecutors, U.S, Exxon Mobil Corp, Exxon, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Aschheim, Munich, Germany, United States, Manhattan, U.S, New York, Azari, India

☆ Billionaire FBI informant Peter Thiel dished about two Kremlin invites to private Putin meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Hans-Martin Tillack | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

It was Angermayer who introduced Bisslinger to Thiel at the party, Thiel would later tell the FBI. After some small talk, Bisslinger made a pitch to Thiel: Thiel should travel to Russia to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. If Thiel chose to attend, Bisslinger said, Bisslinger would arrange for him to meet privately with Putin. "Even if Mr. Angermayer did introduce Mr. Thiel and Mr. Bisslinger," the lawyers wrote in another letter, "Mr. Angermayer is not—and cannot be—responsible for whatever Mr. Bisslinger and Mr. Thiel may or may not have discussed." At his 40th birthday, he connected Peter Thiel with a Russian diplomat, Thiel later told the FBI.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Christian Angermayer, Thiel, Daniil Bisslinger, Bisslinger, Vladimir Putin's, Angermayer, Putin, Maksim Konstantinov, —, Frank Figliuzzi, Vladimir Putin, — Charles Johnson —, Johnathan Buma, Johnson, Welt, Dmitry Peskov, John Lamparski, Donald Trump, — Thiel, Der Spiegel, he'd, Elon Musk, Musk, Thiel —, he's, Palantir, He's, Uma Thurman, Robbie Williams, Queen Latifah, Paul Kagame, Dan McCrum, John Kerry, Richard Grenell, Kerry, Sensei Biotherapeutics, Trump, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Maureen Dowd, Alexander Schütz, Eva Schütz, Schütz, — Heinz, Christian Strache, Markus Braun, Jan Marsalek, Marsalek, Caroline Haskins, Katherine Long, Jack Newsham, Mattathias Schwartz, Hans, Martin Tillack Organizations: Kremlin, Tech, Pentagon, CIA, Facebook, SpaceX, Kremlin's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Embassy, Thiel, St ., Economic, Getty, FBI, Atlantic, Bisslinger, Germany, Elon, Russia, NSA, US Special Operations Command, National Health Service, Apeiron Investment, Munich Security, intel, Trump, State Department, Angermayer's, PayPal, Nasdaq, Sciences, The New York Times, Deutsche Bank, Welt Locations: Silicon Valley, Schloss Neuwaldegg, Vienna, Silicon, Moscow, Russian, Berlin, Russia, St, St . Petersburg, Petersburg, Ukraine, Europe, Germany, NATO, Crimea, Ukrainian, Sevastopol, Palantir, Washington, Rwanda, Baltic, Belarus, Iran, Angermayer's Malta, Munich, China, China's, Austrian, Austria, Exxpress, Wirecard, schwartz79@protonmail.com

Worldline's (WLN.PA) stock slide, which saw around $4 billion wiped off its market value, is the latest wake-up call. COMMISSIONS CUTRevenue growth has suffered at payments firms as inflation has force European consumers to spend less, while investors fret about the euro zone slipping into recession. Some analysts say payments firms have also been caught napping, after a period of growth during COVID lockdowns. In a further sign of investor wariness, venture capital investment flows into European payment firms have also dried up. Now, it may leave private equity investors to pick up the pieces for payment service firms, analysts said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Paul Charpentier, Bryan Garnier, napping, Jefferies, Hannes Leitner, Leitner, Charpentier, wariness, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo, Morgan Stanley, Worldline, Bryan Garnier's Charpentier, Elizabeth Howcroft, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, PayPal, Holdings, Companies, Barclays, Reuters, Spain's Banco Sabadell, Fidelity National Information Services, CVC Capital Partners, CVC, Thomson Locations: London, U.S, Nexi, Europe

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors say an Israeli private investigator used hackers to steal emails from climate activists who were campaigning against American energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N). Prosecutors stopped short of stating a connection between the Israeli private eye – former policeman Aviram Azari – and Exxon, and the memo did not identify any of his clients. Victims say that leaves a key question unanswered. Exxon pushed back, filing lawsuits that cited press articles, which suggested the activists were using underhanded tactics. “Azari facilitated the hacking scheme by directing groups of hackers, including a particular group of individuals based in India, to target specific victims,’” prosecutors wrote.

Persons: Damian Williams, parry, Prosecutors, Aviram Azari, Kert Davies, Paul Weiss, Bradley Campbell, Williams, Azari, Barry, “ Azari, ’, Raphael Satter, Christopher Bing, Leslie Adler, Richard Chang Organizations: U.S, Exxon Mobil Corp, Southern, of, Exxon, Climate Integrity, Natural Resources, Conservation Law Foundation, Exxon Mobil, Reuters, Thomson Locations: of New York, New York, Massachusetts, India, United States

☆ Fugitive Wirecard executive Marsalek contacts German court through lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUNICH, July 18 (Reuters) - Former Wirecard (WDIG.H) board member Jan Marsalek, who has been on the run since the implosion of the German payments company in 2020, has contacted a Munich court through his lawyer, according to the court and the public prosecutor's office. The turn of events comes amid a trial of Wirecard's former chief executive and marks the first known official communication from Marsalek, Wirecard's former chief operating officer, whose exact whereabouts have been unknown for several years. German police have been conducting an international search and had issued an arrest warrant for Marsalek, whom they accuse of "fraud in the billions". Spokespeople for the public prosecutor's office and the court confirmed on Tuesday that a letter from Marsalek's lawyer had been received, but did not comment on the content of the letter. ($1 = 0.8910 euros)Reporting by Alexander Huebner, writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jan Marsalek, Marsalek, Wirecard, EY, WirtschaftsWoche, Alexander Huebner, Tom Sims, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Thomson Locations: MUNICH, Munich, Marsalek

MAS imposed penalties of S$2.6 million ($1.93 million) for DBS, S$600,000 for OCBC, or Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, S$400,000 for Citibank and S$200,000 for Swiss Life. Asked whether illicit activities had taken place involving the institutions, MAS said its checks focused on compliance with its requirements. DBS failed to adequately inquire into the background and purpose of "unusually large transactions", it said. A Swiss Life spokesperson said it had terminated a client relationship in 2020 after being approached by authorities about a contract. "Since then, and in close cooperation with the authorities, additional measures have been implemented within Swiss Life (Singapore) to detect client misconduct more effectively."

Persons: Wirecard, OCBC, Chen Lin, Yantoultra, Selina Li, Martin Petty, Conor Humphries Organizations: Citibank, DBS, Swiss, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Chinese Banking Corp, MAS, FIs, Singapore police, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore

☆ Worldline seeks to crack tough French payments nut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, April 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Worldline’s (WLN.PA) boss Gilles Grapinet has spotted an opportunity to access a hard-to-crack payments market. A partnership with Crédit Agricole will allow Worldline to enter Europe’s top market for merchant payments, which several domestic banks still handle directly. Analysts reckon the French bank will confer its entire merchant acquiring business to the new company. For Worldline, the deal may be a stepping-stone to make similar accords with other French lenders or even purchase the whole of Crédit Agricole’s payments business over time. But this deal shows that payments companies still have some scope for dealmaking to improve their fortunes.

☆ Credit Agricole and Worldline plan French payments business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) and payment services company Worldline (WLN.PA) have begun exclusive talks to set up a joint venture to provide payment services to businesses and their customers, they said on Wednesday. The joint-venture, slated to be fully operational by 2025, would be majority owned by Worldline and fully consolidated in the payments company's accounts, they said. It will involve an investment of 80 million euros, shared equally between Worldline and Credit Agricole, they said. Credit Agricole has a target to increase sales stemming from payments by 20% by 2025. The French bank previously had a "strategic partnership" focused on payments with German group Wirecard, which filed for insolvency in 2020.

"It cannot be that financial institutions are doing well because they treat their customers badly," Chan-Jae Yoo, a BaFin official, said in an interview. Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, an umbrella organisation that lobbies for German finance, said German banks are "extremely stable and robust" and confidence remains "high" and "unaffected" by recent turmoil stemming from the collapse of lenders in the United States and Switzerland. "The mere fact that consumers are increasingly asking us and seeking our advice is proof enough that they do not fully trust financial institutions," he said. Protections and rights for customers of financial institutions have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and the German courts. "We want services to establish themselves in the marketplace that meet consumer needs, not feed the financial industry," he said.

☆ EY banned from auditing public interest companies in Germany over Wirecard
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Big-4 accounting firm EY has been banned from auditing companies of public interest in Germany for two years over its failures as the auditor of Wirecard in the years before the digital payments company’s staggering collapse. Germany’s auditor supervisory authority APAS said Monday that it had imposed sanctions on the auditor of Wirecard over “breaches of professional duty” between 2016 and 2018, without naming EY. EY had audited Wirecard for more than a decade before refusing to sign off on its final results for 2019, precipitating the company’s downfall. The supervisory body also fined the Wirecard auditor €500,000 ($544,000) and issued smaller fines — between €23,000 ($25,000) and €300,000 ($326,000) — to five individual auditors at the firm. In the end, Wirecard admitted that roughly a quarter of its assets — €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) in cash — probably never existed.

☆ EY fined, banned from some audits in Germany over Wirecard scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

APAS said in a statement that it had imposed sanctions on Wirecard's auditing company and five individual auditors, without referring to EY by name. Wirecard's annual report names EY as the auditor for that period. Wirecard filed for insolvency in June 2020, owing creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro hole in its accounts that EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud. The ban forbids the auditor from participating in tenders for audits of certain companies for two years. This includes all listed companies as well as the majority of the financial sector consisting of banks and insurance companies.

☆ UK's Home REIT says two tenant firms enter voluntary liquidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 6 (Reuters) - UK housing provider Home REIT Plc (HOMEH.L) said on Monday two of its tenants have entered into creditors' voluntary liquidation, adding to worries for the firm as tries to fend off a short-seller attack and reviews a sale. The housing provider for the homeless said Gen Liv UK CIC and Lotus Sanctuary CIC have entered into voluntary liquidation and the company was in talks with prospective tenants to take on new leases for the two portfolios. It said Lotus Sanctuary CIC accounted for 12.5% of its annual rent roll while Gen Liv UK CIC accounted for 5.7%Lotus Sanctuary and Gen Liv did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The company has missed a deadline to publish its annual results and trading in the firm's shares has been suspended since Jan. 3. Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; editing by Rashmi Aich and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany's Commerzbank makes DAX comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) rejoined the DAX index on Monday, marking a comeback for Germany's No. "We have come to stay," Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof said before ringing the opening bell at the Frankfurt stock exchange. "The return of Commerzbank is a good signal for the German banking market." Following Wirecard's demise, Deutsche Boerse AG, which compiles the DAX index, revamped it to include 40 companies, rather than the previous 30, and made membership criteria tougher. Other members include Siemens AG, Volkswagen AG, and Allianz SE.

☆ In comeback, Commerzbank to join Germany's DAX blue-chip index
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A company logo is pictured at the headquarters of Germany's Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, Germany, February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File PhotoFRANKFURT, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) will rejoin the DAX index on Feb. 27, Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) announced late on Friday, marking a comeback for Germany's No. "This shows that we are on the right track with our restructuring - and spurs us on to continue with the same energy," Commerzbank AG said on Twitter in response to the announcement. Following Wirecard's demise, Deutsche Boerse AG, which compiles the DAX index, revamped it to include 40 companies, rather than the previous 30, and made membership criteria tougher. Other members include Siemens AG, Volkswagen AG, and Allianz SE.

Ten years ago, he quit his job at the bank to live off dividends. May was his record month last year; he earned over 35,000 euros in dividends, Jonen said. "If you want to live off dividends, you have to start in your mid-20s. Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs, are investment trusts that investors trade on the stock exchange in a way similar to regular stocks. Moving forward, Jonen said he wants to increase his positions, especially in the dividend ETFs, as they don't require much effort.

☆ 'Day of pain': Wirecard boss denies charges in massive fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Jörn Poltz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUNICH, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The former boss of Wirecard on Monday expressed his "deepest regret" over the collapse of the defunct payments company but denied all allegations as he took to the stand in Germany's biggest post-war fraud trial. Austrian-born Braun, 53, and two other ex-Wirecard managers Oliver Bellenhaus and Stephan von Erffa are on trial on charges including market manipulation and fraud and face up to 15 years each in prison if convicted. "There was in reality no life outside the company," he said, speaking throughout in a calm and concentrated voice. Braun's lawyers have alleged that Bellenhaus was the main perpetrator of the fraud at Wirecard, which began processing payments for pornography and online gambling and rose to be a blue chip DAX company worth $28 billion. Reporting by Jörn Poltz and Alexander Hübner Writing by Matthias Williams Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The massive selloff in Adani shares eclipses those of other short-seller targets like Enron and Wirecard
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Adani Group companies have lost over $110 billion in market value in the past fortnight. These losses eclipse those at other short seller targets like Enron and Wirecard. Enron lost more than $65 billion between August 2000 and December 2001 when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, per Bloomberg's record. In Wirecard's case, it was short seller Fraser Perring, who in a 2016 report, accused the payments firm of money laundering and fraud. Shares of Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Power were also up.

☆ EY Germany to make structural changes in cost-reduction push
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - The German unit of EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, has decided to make structural changes with a focus on personnel measures and reductions of non-personnel costs, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday in an emailed statement. The company has initiated discussions with the so-called co-determination body, the spokesperson said, referring to the German system that gives workers a say in corporate decision-making. EY, one of the "Big Four" global accountant firms, had audited and certified payments company Wirecard's books even as journalists and investors raised questions about its finances. Wirecard collapsed in 2020 after it was forced to admit that 1.9 billion euros ($2.07 billion) were missing from its balance sheet. ($1 = 0.9165 euros)Reporting by Gokul Pisharody and Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany's Commerzbank sues EY for Wirecard losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A Commerzbank logo is pictured before the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File PhotoFRANKFURT, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The German lender Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) is suing accounting firm EY over the 200 million euros ($216.12 million) in losses that it incurred in the collapse of Wirecard, a bank spokesperson said on Thursday. EY was for years the firm that audited and certified Wirecard's books even as journalists and investors raised questions about its finances. The Commerzbank spokesperson said the case had been filed in Frankfurt court in recent weeks. An EY spokesperson said "claims against EY for damages do not hold up".

☆ Trading in shares of UK's Home REIT temporarily suspended
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Home REIT Plc's (HOMEH.L) shares were temporarily suspended from trading starting Jan. 3, as it missed a deadline to publish its annual financial report due to an ongoing audit after a short-seller report on the British company's finances. The results are expected to be published "as soon as practicable," the company said in a statement on Tuesday, without providing a timeline. On Dec. 12, Home REIT's shares plunged to a record low after it said its auditors were carrying out "enhanced audit procedures" and reiterated that all allegations made by Viceroy are "without substance". "We don't see HOME REIT's (trading) suspension being short-term," Viceroy told Reuters in an emailed statement. Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wirecard witness admits guilt but pins German fraud blame on ex-CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Christina Amann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oliver Bellenhaus, who was head of Wirecard's subsidiary in Dubai, became a key witness in the case after turning himself in to German authorities in 2020. They face charges including fraud and market manipulation and if convicted could be jailed for up to 15 years. Florian Eder, a lawyer for Bellenhaus, told Reuters that the cooperation of his client should result in a "very significant reduction" in his sentence. It was a swindle from the beginning," Bellenhaus told the court, saying he deeply regretted his involvement and the damage it caused. But Bellenhaus told the court on Monday it was "blind loyalty" to Braun, whom he described as an "absolutist CEO", that had landed him in court in Munich.

☆ For bear stock pickers, 2023 is full of rich pickings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Carson Block, Chief Investment Officer, Muddy Waters Capital LLC., speaks at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S. May 4, 2016. Hedge fund Muddy Waters on Wednesday said it was shorting Vivion Investments, suspecting the real estate investment firm's portfolios were overvalued. Since the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, companies have pushed aggressive accounting to its limits, said Muddy Waters CEO Carson Block. People are milking the system," he said, adding that he expects even more aggressive accounting and fraud in 2023. Tighter monetary conditions and less readily available debt means investors will likely scrutinise company cash generation in 2023, Earl said.

Companies Wirecard AG FollowMUNICH, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun began his defence in Germany's biggest post-war fraud trial on Monday, as his lawyer dismissed allegations of wrongdoing at the defunct payments company as "absurd" and prejudiced. They said the deception allowed Wirecard's managers to siphon money out of the company for years. "It's an absolutely absurd and erroneous notion that a gang leader would act like this," Dierlamm told the court. Braun's lawyer told the court that the prosecution's key witness was the main perpetrator. Wirecard became the first-ever member of Germany's DAX blue chip stock index to file for insolvency, owing nearly $4 billion.

Search resuls for: "Wirecard"

25 mentions found