Wirecard files for insolvency
German electronic payments firm Wirecard is filing for insolvency.
It makes it the first ever sitting member of Germany's blue-chip share index to go out of business.
The development announced on Thursday (June 25) comes after it disclosed a $2.1 billion financial hole in its accounts.
Shares were suspended by the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before the news.
They have dropped more than 90% since auditor EY refused to sign off on the 2019 accounts last week.
That led to a chain of events including the resignation of long-time CEO Markus Braun.
And the start of an investigation into Braun on suspicion of misrepresenting Wirecard's accounts and market manipulation.
He's since been arrested and then released on bail.
Now the prosecutor's office has said it will now look at all possible criminal offenses.
The Munich-based 'fintech' and German tech success story collapses less than two years after it won admission to Germany's prestigious DAX blue-chip index.
At its peak it was worth $28 billion.
