The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) classified Wirecard AG as a technology company and not as a financial holding group. As a consequence, in the opinion of BaFin, the Free State of Bavaria or the district government of Lower Bavaria was entrusted with the task of supervising the global Group with regard to money laundering.
Moreover, the respective classification resulted in the possibility for BaFin employees to trade in Wirecard AG shares. The legal assessment by BaFin contradicts the opinion of the European Central Bank (ECB), as is evident from a report published by the Handelsblatt on August 16, 2020. According to the report, a spokeswoman of the central bank said that ECB employees are not allowed to own shares of Wirecard because the company meets the criteria as a financial enterprise in the European Union and trading in shares, bonds or derivatives of financial corporations is prohibited for ECB staff.
