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The Weird, Extremely German Origins of the Wirecard Scandal
Article

The Weird, Extremely German Origins of the Wirecard Scandal

How politicians, regulators, and the media fell for an obvious financial fraud

New Republic, 2021


Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Overview
  • Background

Recommendation

Is Germany a true economic tour de force? Or does the complex interrelationship between industry and politics – which touts the German Wirtschaftswunder while a code of silence mutes its failures – make it a tour de farce? In explaining Wirecard’s seemingly inexorable rise and ultimately predictable fall, professor Adrian Daub deftly examines how German national and commercial pride, beneath a veil of parochialism, perpetuated an ongoing blindness to the Wirecard imbroglio. 

Take-Aways

  • The Wirecard fraud was a long time in the making.
  • German officials’ take on the scandal was an exercise in denial.
  • Germany’s history and politics help explain the fiasco.

About the Author

Adrian Daub is a professor of German studies and comparative literature at Stanford University.