German Regulator Looks to Open Probe Into Grenke’s Accounting

Germany’s financial regulator is considering opening a probe into Grenke AG’s accounting practices, wading deeper into the controversy after criticism of its failure to unearth fraud at Wirecard AG.

BaFin is expected to mandate an auditing firm to carry out the investigation of Grenke’s accounts, according to people familiar with the matter. The German regulator has so far limited its involvement into looking at whether Grenke or other parties manipulated the price of the leasing company’s securities.

While it isn’t yet clear what formal justification BaFin will use to investigate, the regulator is under pressure to act and ...