In this episode of pplpod, we dive into the spectacular collapse of Wirecard, the German payment processor that fell from being a prestigious DAX stock index member to insolvency in a matter of days. We examine how a company founded in 1999—initially processing payments for gambling and pornography sites—grew into a fintech giant before crashing down amidst one of the largest financial scandals in history.

Join us as we cover:

• The Missing Money: How Wirecard admitted in June 2020 that €1.9 billion in cash was missing from its accounts—money the board later admitted likely never existed.

• The Executives: The fate of CEO Markus Braun, who was arrested and charged with fraud and accounting manipulation, and the mysterious COO Jan Marsalek, who was fired and remains a fugitive on ...