Stay updated with breaking news from Hot startup. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Online payment service Wirecard was once Germany's biggest tech darling and the country's answer to Silicon Valley, at its peak valued at more than 24 billion euros; until 2020, when it was exposed as one of the most audacious corporate frauds of the modern era. A tip-off in 2014 started Financial Times journalist Dan McCrum on a seven year investigation, uncovering corrupt business practices and fraudulent financial reporting. But as he pursued the story, Wirecard fought back viciously; with online abuse, hacking, electronic eavesdropping, physical surveillance and intimidation. But the house of cards eventually came crashing down. Dan McCrum tells the story in his book Money Men: A Hot Startup, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth, which been made into a Netflix documentary; Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard. ....