Wirecard Suspected of Lending to Partner Firms Before Collapse

German prosecutors suspect Wirecard AG extended large loans to partner companies before its implosion in June, at a time when the payments company was already facing media reports alleging accounting fraud.

The prosecutors surmise the loans by the disgraced German firm may have been unsecured and may have been made to partner companies in Dubai, Singapore and the Philippines, a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing the private information said.

The loans amount to $1 billion and Wirecard claimed they were for advance payments to merchants processing card transactions through its partners in Asia, ...