SoftBank’s $1 billion Wirecard bet under scrutiny as troubled payments processor fights for survival

SoftBank’s $1 billion Wirecard bet under scrutiny as troubled payments processor fights for survival

SoftBank's $1 billion Wirecard investment under scrutiny

CEO of Softbank Group Masayoshi Son attending a news conference in Tokyo on February 8, 2017.

Alessandro Di Ciommo | NurPhoto | Getty Images

SoftBank has come under renewed scrutiny about its investment strategy “” but this time it's about one of the Japanese tech conglomerate's lesser-known bets.

Last year, the company made a 900 million euros ($1 billion) investment in Wirecard, as part of a broader tie-up between the two on digital payments. But that deal has raised eyebrows now due to a deepening accounting crisis at the German payments processor.

SoftBank has come under renewed scrutiny about its investment strategy “” and this time it concerns one of the Japanese tech conglomerate's lesser-known bets.

Last year, the company made a 900 million euro ($1 billion) investment in Wirecard, as part of a broader tie-up between the two on digital payments. But that deal has raised eyebrows now due to a deepening accounting crisis at the German payments processor.

The Munich-based company is fighting for its survival after revealing that 1.9 billion euros of missing cash “” roughly a quarter of its balance sheet “” likely doesn't exist. Auditors at EY refused to sign off the firm's 2019 accounts last