Deutsche Bank Accounting Head Stands Aside Over Wirecard Scandal

The head of accounting at Deutsche Bank is temporarily stepping down in the wake of the Wirecard scandal, the Financial Times reports.

The move comes as Deutsche Bank and Andreas Loetscher are now in the scope of the investigation over Loetscher’s previous role at EY, the auditor of the disgraced payments company Wirecard.

Before moving over to Duetsche Bank in 2018, Loetscher had previously been in charge of auditing Wirecard at EY, where he worked for over 20 years.

Loetscher is one of at least two Wirecard auditors under investigation by Apas, Germany’s audit oversight body, for potentially violating professional duties.

Wirecard, once a rising star in European payments, fell into scandal and then insolvency this year over the revelation of a missing 1.9 billion euros ($2,1 billion). The company at first said the money was in a Philippines bank, but in fact it may have never even existed.

The FT reported Wednesday (Dec. 9) that it had reviewed an email to Deutsch Bank staff announcing that Brigitte Bomm, global head of tax, would replace Loetscher effective immediately. Deutsche Bank confirmed the memo was authentic, but declined to comment further.

EY (Ernst & Young) is scheduled to become Deutsche Bank’s auditor in 2021.

The FT reported that James von Moltke, the bank’s chief financial officer, told staff that Loetscher’s temporary replacement was taken “at Andreas’ request and in mutual agreement” and stressed that “this step is neither an acknowledgment of wrongdoing by Andreas nor a change of perception on the part of the bank.”

Von Moltke added that the Deutsche Bank team “values Andreas highly as a colleague.”

Apas suspects that EY partners knew they were issuing “factually inaccurate” audits for Wirecard in 2017 and 2018, according to the FT report. If proved, these violations could be punishable by up to three years in jail.

EY Germany has repeatedly rejected allegations of wrongdoing and this week said it was “not aware of any indication of illegal conduct.”

Loetscher will work as a senior adviser to Bomm and will remain a member of the lender’s finance leadership team.