- Financial services provider Grenke is being investigated by BaFin, the German financial regulator.
- The investigation comes after a report by a short-selling investor research company alleged it of market manipulation, money laundering and fraud.
- Shares of Grenke were down 29% at one point on Tuesday.
LONDON – Grenke, a German financial services provider, is under investigation after a report by a short-selling investor research company alleged it of market manipulation, money laundering and fraud.
The 64-page report, which Grenke strongly rejects, was published by Fraser Perring of Viceroy Research. Shares of Grenke, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, were down 29% at one point on Tuesday and saw heavy falls again on Wednesday.
Grenke argues that one of the main accusations in the report is false.
“A central accusation is that a substantial portion of the 1,078 million euros in cash and cash equivalents reported in the 2020 half-year financial report does not exist,” Grenke said in a statement. “This is demonstrably false.”
The company said 849 million euros was held in Deutsche Bundesbank accounts on June 30. “As of today, the credit balance at the Bundesbank amounts to 761 million euros,” Grenke said. A spokesperson for the German central bank declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.
www.cnbc.com/2020/09/16/grenke-shares-tank-after-short-seller-accuses-it-of-fraud-.html