How Wirecard Went from Fintech Star to Criminal Court: QuickTake

German payments company Wirecard AG was a hot growth story that had shaken off allegations of accounting fraud — until the truth came knocking. First came the admission that about $2 billion of company funds had gone missing, then insolvency. The scandal led to the resignation and jailing of the company’s former Chief Executive Officer Markus Braun. More executives, banking officials and auditors became ensnared in the embarrassing fallout that rattled Germany’s financial industry and left its regulators looking flat-footed.

1. What did Wirecard do?

Wirecard was a developer of software and systems for online payments and fraud protection ...