accounting fraud News

Steinhoff International’s Insurers Agree to Pay $93 Million for Directors’ Liability Claims

Most of the insurers that provided Steinhoff International Holdings NV with director-liability policies have agreed to pay as much as 78.1 million euros ($93 million) toward legal settlements resulting from a 2017 accounting crisis. The bulk of the money will …

S. Africa’s Steinhoff in Talks with D&O Insurers to Help Settle Accounting Crisis Claims

Steinhoff International Holdings NV is in talks with the providers of director liability insurance policies about help settling legal claims resulting from a 2017 accounting crisis that took the South African retailer to the brink of collapse. An agreement with …

Former Wirecard Executive Marsalek Placed on Interpol’s Most Wanted List

Former Wirecard AG executive Jan Marsalek was added to Interpol’s red notice list, sparking a worldwide manhunt for one of the executives allegedly at the center of a multibillion-euro accounting scandal at the fintech company The move alerts police worldwide …

Germany to Reform Regulation of Insurers, Banks, Payment Firms on Wirecard Scandal

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz intends to unveil a reform of the government’s financial oversight, as the widening scandal over the collapse of Wirecard AG reaches the highest levels of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. Scholz’s 16-point “action plan” would install …

South Africa Retailer Steinhoff Offers $1B to Settle Global Accounting Fraud Lawsuits

South Africa’s Steinhoff has proposed to pay around $1 billion to settle outstanding legal claims following a massive accounting fraud, a fraction of the over 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) claimants are seeking. The announcement sent its shares up over …

German Prosecutors Arrest Ex-Wirecard Execs on Suspicion of Running Criminal Racket

German prosecutors arrested three former top executives of Wirecard on Wednesday, saying it suspected them of masterminding a criminal racket to fake the company’s accounts and bilk creditors of billions of euros. Former Chief Executive Markus Braun, already a suspect, …

Wirecard Hires Forensic Investigator, Say Sources. Findings Could Aid in D&O Litigation.

German payments company Wirecard has hired Alix Partners for a forensic investigation of the accounting scandal that led to its collapse, people close to the matter said. The blue-chip company filed for insolvency last month, owing creditors almost $4 billion …

UK Watchdog Urges Big 4 Accounting Firms to Challenge Clients as Audit Quality Slides

The dominant accounting firms must do a better job of challenging their clients in order to reach a satisfactory level of audit quality, the industry’s UK watchdog said. The so-called Big Four — KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers …

Wirecard Probe Expands with Arrest of Head of Dubai-Based Subsidiary

BERLIN/FRANKFURT – German prosecutors said on Monday they had arrested the head of a Dubai-based subsidiary of Wirecard, widening the circle of suspects in a multi-billion-dollar fraud investigation into the collapse of the payments company. The Munich prosecutor’s office said …

UK Accounting Watchdog Asks Big Four to Ring-Fence Audit Practices

The UK dominant accounting firms must separate their audit units from other businesses by June 2024 as the country’s accounting watchdog reacts to shortcomings that led to the collapse of several companies. The Financial Reporting Council is asking the so-called …