Top investor calls for dismissal of Wirecard chief Markus Braun
Deka Investment urges chairman to act quickly to end crisis of confidence in payments group after special audit
Deka Investment, a top-10 shareholder in Wirecard, has called for the dismissal of chief executive Markus Braun, raising the pressure on chairman Thomas Eichelmann after shares in the German payments group collapsed 38 per cent in a week.
The sell-off, which has wiped more than €5bn from Wirecard’s stock market value, was triggered by the results of KPMG’s special audit into its accounting and business practices.
The Big Four accountancy firm said it could not verify that large parts of Wirecard’s reported revenue were real and disclosed it ran into obstacles during a six-month investigation.
Ingo Speich, Deka’s head of sustainability and corporate governance, told the Financial Times that he called for Mr Braun’s removal in a personal conversation with Mr Eichelmann earlier this week.
“The company owes [Mr Braun] a lot but we don’t think that he is the right person to stabilise Wirecard and overcome the current crisis,” said Mr Speich, adding that the chief executive was “primarily responsible for the massive loss in confidence”.
Deka Investment, a top-10 shareholder in Wirecard, has called for the dismissal of chief executive Markus Braun, raising the pressure on chairman Thomas Eichelmann after shares in the German payments group collapsed 38 per cent in a week.
The sell-off, which has wiped more than €5bn from Wirecard’s stock market value, was triggered by the results of KPMG’s special audit into its accounting and business practices.
The Big Four accountancy firm said it could not verify that large parts of Wirecard’s reported revenue were real and disclosed it ran into obstacles during a six-month investigation.
Ingo Speich, Deka’s head of sustainability and corporate governance, told the Financial Times that he called for Mr Braun’s removal in a personal conversation with Mr Eichelmann earlier this week.
“The company owes [Mr Braun] a lot but we don’t think that he is the right person to stabilise Wirecard and overcome the current crisis,” said Mr Speich, adding that the chief executive was “primarily responsible for the massive loss in confidence”.