Payments firm Wirecard collapsed last year in Germanys biggest postwar fraud scandal. A parliamentary inquiry is in progress, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz due to testify in April.

The German government examined the possibility of bailing out Wirecard just three days before it collapsed, according to documents seen by Reuters.

The following timeline summarizes the developments that led to the collapse of the company, as well as key moments since

1999 Wirecard is founded in Munich.

2002 Markus Braun, previously a KPMG consultant, takes over as chief executive. 

2005 Wirecard is listed on the Deutsche Boerse Frankfurt Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Prime Standard segment.

2006 Consolidation of Wirecard Bank AG.

2007 Wirecard Asia Pacific established.

2010 Jan Marsalek appointed Chief Operating Officer at Wirecard.

2016 A negative report by short sellers Zatarra Research alleges fraudulent activity at Wirecard, saying senior executives have committed money laundering offences, as well as defrauding Mastercard and Visa. 

2018 Wirecard joins the DAX bluechip market index, making it officially one of the 30 most valuable German companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

2019

Jan. 30 Wirecard denies a report in the Financial Times that a Wirecard executive had used forged and backdated contracts in a string of suspicious transactions that raised questions about the integrity of the company39;s accounting practice. Wirecard…