FirstFT: Ex-Wirecard accountant admits forging documents for KPMG

Wirecard’s ex-head of accounting has admitted to forging documents requested by KPMG throughout a particular audit, forward of a trial that’s set for later this 12 months, in response to folks acquainted with the matter.

Stephan von Erffa is considered one of three defendants charged with fraud, breach of belief and market manipulation in a case introduced by Munich prosecutors over the spectacular downfall of considered one of Germany’s highest-flying expertise corporations.

Wirecard crashed into insolvency in June 2020 after admitting that half of its acknowledged revenues and €1.9bn of company money purportedly held in escrow accounts in Asia didn’t exist.

Von Erffa denied any involvement within the wider fraud and blamed Wirecard’s fugitive second-in-command Jan Marsalek throughout a parliamentary inquiry into the scandal final 12 months. Nevertheless, the police investigation discovered proof that von Erffa cast paperwork in early 2020 that have been then shared with auditors at KPMG and EY.

The 47-year-old is the primary senior Wirecard govt to confess wrongdoing since Oliver Bellenhaus, head of a Dubai subsidiary, turned himself in to authorities in July 2020 and turned chief witness for the prosecution. Von Erffa, Bellenhaus and former chief govt Markus Braun, who denies wrongdoing, are set to face trial this 12 months.

Thanks for studying FirstFT Asia. Right here’s the remainder of immediately’s information. — Sophia

5 extra tales within the information

1. Beijing silent over Xi’s brush with Covid-19 in Hong Kong A Hong Kong lawmaker has sparked concerns over the well being of Xi Jinping after testing constructive for Covid-19 simply two days after his assembly with the Chinese language president. Xi’s brush with Covid-19 comes as lockdown measures and mass testing are reintroduced within the east of China following a brand new outbreak of instances.

2. UK politicians elevate alarm over Chinese language CCTV suppliers MPs and friends from throughout the political spectrum have known as on prime minister Boris Johnson to ban the sale of surveillance equipment in the UK from Chinese language corporations Hikvision and Dahua, which have already been blacklisted by the US over Beijing’s use of their gear within the repression of Uyghur Muslims in China.

3. US concludes unintentional Israeli fireplace killed Al Jazeera journalist The US state division stated that Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was most likely shot by Israeli defence forces. The report comes per week earlier than US president Joe Biden’s Center East journey.

4. Germany warns of ‘historic problem’ as commerce slides into deficit Hovering vitality costs and disrupted commerce have pushed the country into a $1bn monthly trade deficit — the primary since 1991. Economists count on Germany to enter a recession this 12 months, with troublesome years of restoration forward.

5. Kidnapped Canadian billionaire faces trial in Shanghai Lacking tycoon Xiao Jianhua faced a Shanghai courtroom, greater than 5 years after the enigmatic dealmaker was snatched from Hong Kong’s 4 Seasons lodge by Chinese language safety guards. He faces costs associated to fraud after his Tomorrow Group collapsed following a debt-fuelled acquisition binge.

The day forward

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Cannes Movie Pageant The seventy fifth annual Festival de Cannes opens immediately, celebrating the most effective of inventive cinema.

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Employees on strike Employees at washer maker Whirlpool will probably be balloted for strike motion immediately over what the union bosses have known as an “insulting” pay supply.

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Uncommon books command enormous costs. It’s not straightforward to revenue from “priceless” books on the black market — nevertheless it doesn’t cease thieves from attempting. From high-tech heists to antiquarian crime rings, the literary underworld would make a gripping novel of its personal.