German regulators are coming under pressure following the arrest of Markus Braun, the former CEO of Wirecard, previously one of the top 30 companies in Germany. It is very damaging for the German economy and investor confidence when a company becomes wrapped up in allegations of fraud, and with hundreds of millions of euros apparently missing.
Wirecard was founded by Braun in 1999, and last Wednesday the shares were trading on the Deutsche Boerse at a high of €104. On Monday of this week they hit a low of €14. As a result, the company now has a market capitalization of around $1.9 billion, down from a high of $30 billion. The company has filed for insolvency, and a lot of shareholders have lost a lot of money.
