Wirecard AG is a listed stock corporation. Insolvency proceedings were opened against its assets in August 2020. In addition to (normal) secured and unsecured creditors, approximately 50,000 of the insolvent company’s shareholders filed proofs of debt, too, so as to recover their damage under capital market law. They argued that Wirecard AG had fraudulently misled its shareholders about the company’s actual financial position and earnings by deliberately promoting a business model that did not actually exist. This deception had caused thousands of bona fide investors to invest in Wirecard shares.
The shareholders’ claims totalled around EUR 8.5 billion, while the other creditor claims amounted to approximately EUR 7…