Wirecard CEO Markus Braun has stepped down amid a deepening accounting scandal that has rocked the company’s share price.
The German payments firm said in a brief statement Friday that Braun had resigned “with immediate effect” and that James Freis would take his place as interim CEO.
It comes just a day after Wirecard admitted that auditors at EY couldn’t find 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of cash on its balance sheet. The firm was forced to postpone its 2019 annual report — the fourth time it has done so this year.
It also warned on Thursday that, if it did not provide consolidated financials by Friday, approximately 2 billion in loans could be called in. There are fears the company could go insolvent by the weekend.
