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To establish some context, Wirecard AG was a German FinTech darling innovating financial payment and processing along with related services. To know the answer of the question read the blog at https://bit.ly/2KNWkTe
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CAN Surveillance Tools HAVE PREDICTED WIRECARD’S DEMISE?
CAN SURVEILLANCE TOOLS HAVE PREDICTED WIRECARD’S DEMISE? That’saquestionthatdeserveslookingintoalittlefurther. First, toestablish somecontext, WirecardAGwasaGermanFinTechdarlinginnovatingfinancial paymentandprocessingalongwithrelatedservices. Thekeywordhereis “was,” asinpast-tenseandnolonger “is.” InSeptember2018, theirvaluation approached €25Billion. Lessthan18monthslater, theylost98% oftheirvalue andarenowdefunct. Butthat’snotthewholestory. AccordingtoBloombergandnumerous reputablemediasources, Wirecardisunderinvestigationforinsidertrading andothernefariousactsoffiscalregulatorynon-compliance. Andit’sunclear howmanyothershaveprofitedbyplacingshortpositionstobetagainstthe stock. OnJune10, 2020, eightdaysbeforeWirecard’sstockcrashed, an anonymoustipsterpostedinanonlineforumthatanEYauditorcouldn’t accountformissingfunds; morespecifically, missingbillions. BoththeGerman mediaoutletHandelsblatt, andBaFin, aGermanregulatorywatchdog, have confirmedthatthenow-deletedpostwaslegitimate. So, thequestionbecomes, couldeCommssurveillancetoolshavepredicted thefallenFinTechgiant’sdemiseandalertedauthoritiesintimetofreezeits assets?
THERE ARE ALWAYS SIGNS Ofcourse, sophisticatedeCommsmonitoringsolutionsarenecessaryto interpretnuance, emojisandthelikefromconversations, butclosescrutinyby watchdogsalsoprovestobeeffective. Inessence, that’swhatCompliance Officersdo. However, atleastinthecaseofWirecard, asavvyblogger (memyselfandi007) hasbeenhotonthetailofthefraudsters – backsince2008 whenthecompanylaunched. PostsbythisbloggerregardingWirecardhave beenviewedmorethan18milliontimes. Here’swhereitgetsreallyinteresting. Theblogger’spostshavebeenheavily redactedand, insomecases, removed; notbytheblogger, butbyWirecard. ThefallenFinTechalsofilednumerouslawsuitsagainstthisbloggerinthe yearsleadinguptothecurrentdebacle. DidBaFin, theEBA, SECandother regulatoryagenciesmissthis – ordismissit? THE AFTERMATH OF ALLEGED MARKET ABUSE MarcusBraun, formerCEO, resignedin shameandhasstatedthatheandWirecard arevictimsoffraud. JanMarsalek, aformer BoardmemberofWirecard, hasfled Germany, likelywithhissolidgoldcredit cardforwhichhewasrenowned. Hewas spottedinthePhilippinesandthenin China. DeutscheBankisdownsizing18,000jobs withinthenexttwoyearsaspartofitscost- cuttingturnaroundplan. What’srelevanthereisthattheyarelookingtoaugmenttheirtechnology stackwithnewsolutions. AccordingtoReuters, theyarecurrentlyeyeingthe acquisitionofWirecard’spaymentprocessingtechnology. Butafewdetails needtobesortedoutfirst.
HOW DID WIRECARD ‘COOK THE BOOKS?’ Thesuspectedschemeisn’tveryelegant, buteffectivenessandelegancearen’t alwayslinearlyequated. A33-yearoldIndonesianaccountantoperatedafirm inSingaporeandhadnotableclientslikeWirecard. Hemanagedonlya handfulofemployeesbut, accordingtotestimonythathassinceemerged, he artfullytaughtthemhowto “cookthebooks.” Thepracticeiscalled “round- tripping” whichinvolvesmovingalumpsumofcashfromtheGermanbank ownedbyWirecardtoadormantsubsidiaryinHongKong. Themoneysits therejustlongenoughtoberecordedasa “customertransaction.” Onthe books, thetransactiongetsrecordedasrevenue. Momentslater, themoney wouldtraveltoWirecard’sofficeinIndia. So, we’llaskthequestiononelasttime, couldeCommsmonitoring softwarehavedetectedthemarketabusewithinWirecardand predicteditsdemise? The “papertrail” thatincludesemails, calls andchatswillprobablybeunveiledintheinvestigationprocess, butthewayIseeit, itissafetosaythattheanswerwillbeYES. SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.SHIELDFC.COM/