Icon: enlarge
Wirecard headquarters near Munich: "I'm sure you are also interested in that"
Photo: Sven Hoppe / DPA
It is not known whether and how the Wirecard management thanked one of its most loyal supporters.
Heike Pauls would have deserved special praise several times.
Not only did the Commerzbank analyst, who was professionally obliged to keep a distance, dismiss critical press reports from Wirecard as “fake news” and, shortly before the collapse of the scandal group, fantasized about 230 euros as a target price for the share;
it also supplied the management of the payment service provider with confidential information that it had previously collected on the capital market.
This is shown by confidential emails that SPIEGEL has received.
In the meeting of the parliamentary committee of inquiry to clear up the Wirecard affair this Thursday, ex-Commerzbank boss Martin Zielke appears as a witness.
The course of the survey will show whether he is working hard for Pauls, as the analyst did for Wirecard.
And also how their analyzes were related to the other activities of Commerzbank in matters of Wirecard: The state-owned money house was one of Wirecard's largest lenders until the end.
But this loan has long been worthless.
Commerzbank had to write off around 175 million euros on Wirecard last year.
Read more with Spiegel Plus
More perspectives, more understanding.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +
Icon: Check
SPIEGEL as a magazine
as an app, e-paper and on the e-reader
Icon: Check
All articles on SPIEGEL.de
Exclusive texts for SPIEGEL + readers
Icon: Check
Try one month for free
Cancel anytime online
A price
only € 19.99 per month
One month for € 0.00
Try now for 0.00 € Buy nowArrow to the right
Already have a digital subscription? Register here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed by one month at the current price of € 19.99.
You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account.
In order to use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.