Germany to revamp financial oversight after Wirecard scandal

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s finance minister says he wants to revamp the oversight system for the country’s financial industry in the wake of the accounting scandal at payment systems provider Wirecard. The Munich-based Wirecard filed for bankruptcy recently after auditors couldn’t find accounts in the Philippines that were supposed to contain 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion). Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told a German weekly on Sunday that he wants to empower the country’s financial supervisory authority to conduct unannounced checks at any moment. He also proposed ensuring that the watchdog has oversight of large payment processing companies. German authorities have been criticized for failing to step in sooner despite reports of irregularities.