Wirecard scandal: Criminal complaint against APAS head Ralf Bose. Investor lawyers see prohibited insider trading

Attorney-at-law Dr. Wolfgang Schirp and attorney-at-law Dr. Marc Liebscher (both Berlin), who jointly represent a large number of WIRECARD investors, today filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of prohibited insider trading against Mr. Ralf Bose, until yesterday Head of the Auditor Oversight Service APAS at the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA).

According to attorney Dr. Marc Liebscher, the background is the findings of the Wirecard investigation committee: "Mr. Bose had a telephone conversation with partners of Ernst & Young Deutschland GmbH (hereinafter "EY") on February 13, 2019. During this conversation, the auditor EY expressed that Wirecard AG was making great efforts to clarify the allegations and that EY was convinced that it was able to form a true picture of the economic and financial situation of Wirecard AG as presented in the Wirecard AG balance sheets. In the phone call, EY's Germany head also said that he would investigate the allegations against Wirecard using professional means. Later in the course of 2019, EY then provided APAS with evidence that the allegations against Wirecard AG's accounting practices had been investigated by forensic means. On April 25, 2019, EY issued an unqualified audit opinion for Wirecard AG's 2018 financial statements."

Attorney Dr. Marc Liebscher continued. "On April 28, 2020, the report of KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft on the results of a special investigation into allegations about Wirecard AG's accounting practices was published. Following the publication of the KPMG report, Wirecard AG's share price fell to around EUR 100, a drop of around 25% on the previous day. Immediately after the publication of the report, on the same day, April 28, 2020, Mr. Ralf Bose acquired an unknown number of shares in Wirecard AG. Asked in the parliamentary investigative committee why he had made this purchase, although the KPMG report had been very critical, Mr. Bose stated that he had "believed" in Wirecard AG and that he had only read the KPMG report "cursorily"."

Attorney Dr. Marc Liebscher's assessment of this. "We can therefore assume that Mr. Bose acquired shares in Wirecard AG despite the KPMG report because he believed that he could trust in a future increase in the share price due to the confident statements made to him by EY regarding the unfoundedness of the allegations against Wirecard AG."

Continued attorney Dr. Wolfgang Schirp: "On May 20, 2020, Mr. Bose sold the shares in Wirecard AG acquired on April 28, 2020. On the day of the sale, a conversation took place between Mr. Bose and Mr. Felix Hufeld, Head of BaFin, which dealt with ongoing investigations by BaFin against Wirecard AG. It is not known whether the sale took place before or after the telephone conversation."

In addition, Dr. Wolfgang Schirp states: "It stands for us, however, to assume that the sale of the shares of Wirecard AG by Mr. Ralf Bose took place in light of the telephone call with the head of BaFin and in knowledge of the investigations of BaFin against Wirecard AG."

Continued attorney Dr. Liebscher: "Some ask, why now the criminal complaint? Because the Green Party Member of Parliament Danyal Bayaz, a member of the Wirecard Investigation Committee of the German Bundestag had already made a notification of the facts to BaFin, combined with the request to examine the facts and asked BaFin to file a criminal complaint with the public prosecutor's office if necessary."

Attorney Dr. Marc Liebscher further. " Well, we do not want to wait for BaFin. Because BaFin has proven to be unreliable on the one hand and on the other hand BaFin itself has problems because of insider trading with Wirecard shares. In addition, it would not be possible to foresee when BaFin would even file a possible criminal complaint. Therefore, we have acted now so that the public prosecutor's office starts investigating as soon as possible."

Attorney-at-law Dr. Wolfgang Schirp explains: "The state attorney will check if Mr. Ralf Bose has made himself liable to prosecution in accordance with Section 119 (3) No. 1 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) and Article 14 (a) of the German Market Regulation Ordinance (MMVO). A violation of Section 119 (3) No. 1 WpHG is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or a fine."

Dr. Marc Liebscher commented: "The information provided by EY in the telephone call of February 13, 2019, regarding Wirecard's progress, expected results and cooperation in the audit of Wirecard AG's financial statements constituted inside information within the meaning of Art. 7 (1) lit. a) MMVO, as it was precise information that was not publicly known, directly related to Wirecard AG and which, if it became publicly known, was capable of significantly influencing the price of the shares of Wirecard AG. Likewise, it was inside information that EY had provided APAS with evidence that the allegations against Wirecard AG had been clarified by forensic means. The information that BaFin had initiated an investigation against Wirecard AG is also insider information within the meaning of the MMVO. We also suspect that insider trading pursuant to Art. 8 (1) MMVO has taken place. This is because Mr. Bose possessed insider information and, using it for his own account, directly acquired and sold financial instruments of Wirecard AG to which the information related."

Attorney Dr. Schirp assesses the purchase of shares as follows: "With regard to the purchase, we can assume that Mr. Bose, based on his insider information from EY about the flawlessness of the audits of the financial statements, acquired the shares immediately after the share price fell on April 28, 2020, because he was convinced that the price of the shares would rise again if it became publicly known that Wirecard AG's accounting was flawless. This is the only way to explain Mr. Bose's statement to the parliamentary investigative committee that he "believed" in Wirecard AG despite the critical KPMG report and therefore acquired the shares."

Attorney Dr. Marc Liebscher on the sale of the shares: "With regard to the sale, it can be assumed that Mr. Bose made the sale of the Wirecard shares on the basis of his insider information about the BaFin investigation proceedings as well as about the professional supervision proceedings against EY, as he expected a decline in the price of the shares due to the now manifest suspicions of false accounting."

For further information, please contact:

Dr. Wolfgang Schirp, Schirp & Partner Rechtsanwälte mbB, Leipziger Platz 9, D - 10117 Berlin, Tel. 0049-30-3276170 and 0049-179-5320213, mail: , URL:

Dr. Marc Liebscher, Dr. Späth & Partner Rechtsanwälte mbB, Kurfürstendamm 102, D - 10711 Berlin, Tel.: 0049-30-88701617 and 0049-176-93150194, mail: , URL: -spaeth.com