German parliamentary committee to discuss Wirecard scandal next week: lawmaker

FILE PHOTO: A woman enters the headquarters of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions, in Aschheim, near Munich, Germany, July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert/File Photo

The German parliament's financial committee will hold an extraordinary meeting on the Wirecard <WDIG.DE> scandal on Wednesday next week and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is expected to be there, a Social Democrat (SPD) lawamker said on Monday.

Scholz, a member of the SPD - the junior partner in a coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives - is facing calls from rival parties to account for the regulatory failures that led to the collapse of Wirecard after it emerged he knew of concerns about the company 18 months ago.

SPD lawmaker Cansel Kiziltepe also urged Economy Minister Peter Altmaier to make a statement to the committee about Wirecard.

FILE PHOTO: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz attends a news conference, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Berlin, Germany, June 17, 2020. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/Pool

(Reporting by Holger Hansen; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Riham Alkousaa)