Culture | Wire fraud

How one journalist exposed the Wirecard scandal

Dan McCrum recounts his battle to expose the truth about the tech firm

VIENNA, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 27: A passerby walks by the office door sign of bankrupt and scandal-ridden German payments processing company Wirecard on August 27, 2020 in Vienna, Austria. Wirecard AG, once listed in the DAX index and heralded as a tech startup marvel, has completely collapsed following revelations that its accounting was fraudulent. Former board member Jan Marsalek is on the run and some media report he has fled to Russia. The debacle has also tarnished accounting firm Ernst and Young as well as German financial overseer Bafin, both of whom failed to detect Wirecard's massive financial irregularities. (Photo by Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)

Money Men. By Dan McCrum. Bantam Press; 352 pages; £20

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Wire fraud”

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