The German government considered helping out Wirecard financially just days before the company went bust, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Last June the payment processor filed for insolvency after it revealed a €1.9 billion black hole in its accounts, owing creditors nearly $4 billion.
At the time, the company’s chief executive officer resigned and was arrested on suspicion of false accounting.
The documents reveal that the ministry looked at using pandemic rescue funds to bail out the company and that government officials “misjudged the scandal,” Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Hours after Wirecard disclosed that the missing €1.9 billion probably didn’t exist, a deputy finance minister sent a rescue plan to another minister which down played concerns about the company going bust.
“A bank run could put Wirecard in liquidity difficulties,” officials wrote, according to Reuters. “It is not currently expected that Wirecard’s creditors...will feed it to the wolves.”
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