The chief executive of Wirecard resigned on Friday after the search for $2.1 billion of cash missing from the embattled electronic payments firm hit a dead end in the Philippines.
Ciara Lee reports
CEO of embattled Wirecard quits
The chief executive of Germany's Wirecard resigned on Friday (June 19).
The development came as the search for $2.1 billion of cash missing from the electronic payments firm hit a dead end in the Philippines.
Markus Braun built the company into one of the hottest investments in Europe.
But he leaves Wirecard facing a looming cash crunch amid allegations of fraud over the missing money.
The company said it had appointed an interim CEO.
Sources say Wirecard is holding emergency talks with banks to secure a financial lifeline.
It comes after its auditor, EY, refused to sign off on its accounts.
The company warned on Thursday (June 18) that loans of roughly $2.24 billion could be terminated if its annual report is not published on Friday.
The company's shares tanked again after two Philippine banks said Wirecard was not a client of theirs, alleging documents had been falsified.
Braun, who has aggressively defended the company against accusations of accounting fraud, had earlier said that the firm could itself have been the victim of fraud.
Wirecard was a welcome technology success story in Germany.
But its fortunes unraveled after a whistleblower alleged that it owed its success in part to a web of sham transactions.
Its failure to win a clean bill of health this week from auditors shattered investor confidence.
Wirecard shares were down over 30 percent after Braun's departure.