Wirecard on Friday denied allegations of financial irregularities after a second investigative report in three days by the Financial Times sent shares in the German payments company down by 28 percent. Friday's price plunge, which wiped $5.7 billion off the company's market value, came after the FT said that Rajah & Tann, an external law firm hired by Wirecard, had found evidence indicating "serious offences of forgery and/or of falsification of accounts" at Wirecard's Singapore office.
A preliminary report by the law firm was the basis for an internal presentation to senior Wirecard management on May 8, 2018, the FT reported.
Wirecard issued a statement dismissing the FT story as "inaccurate, misleading and defamatory", using similar language to its denial of an earlier report on Wednesday.
"Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP is one of Wirecard's many legal advisers and regularly conducts compliance and governance related advisory work for Wirecard," the statement continued.