Scandal! Bringing Down Wirecard Review: The Definitive Narrative of Fintech Downfall
Netflix’s documentary is a gem for true crime enthusiasts and fintech industry insiders.
Image source: Courtesy of Netflix © 2022.
Stories about financial crime are not easy to get across, especially on film, where the mention of “short selling” or an attempt to explain “inflation” risks turning off even the most committed audience.
Major Hollywood motion pictures that have created this – from Leo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street to Matt Damon who talked us through the financial crisis of the 2010s Inside job-is very much an exception to the superhero, action and romance films that usually rule the cinemas.
But there is a point only 10 minutes in Scandal! Brings down Wirecardwhen I realized that Netflix’s new documentary is not only the best retelling of Wirecard’s complicated demise yet, it’s also a tremendous financial crime film.
A quick summary for those new to the story.
Wirecard was the golden child of the European fintech community in the 2010s, touted as Germany’s answer to PayPal. The only catch was that its executives – Braun and COO Jan Marsalek – engaged in fraudulent financial reporting on an epic scale, leading to a €1.9 billion hole in the company’s accounts and its eventual collapse in 2020.
For avid fintech followers, Scandal! may be the third time you are led through the infamous story of secret meetings, money laundering and high-flying fintech.
But even if you paid close attention Financial Times’ original reporting spanning 90+ articles between 2015-2020 or read FT journalist Dan McCrum’s insider account last year in his book Money Men: A Hot Start-up, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truththis new Netflix documentary offers something unique.
That’s because the jet-setting story of McCrum’s reporting was made for Netflix. An investigation that jumps between Singapore, London, Berlin, New York, Cannes and even Libya, brought to life by director James Erskine.
As the story jumps from Berlin back to London, we hear the first phone call between McCrum and the then CEO of Wirecard, Markus Braun – the ‘Steve Jobs of the Alps’ donning his signature all-black outfit.
McCrum tells Braun that Wirecard’s shady Asian acquisitions are being used to cover up something. Braun returns with his signature cocky confidence, dismissing McCrum’s proposal as “all bullshit.”
Throughout the 90 minutes, Netflix plays to the advantage of being able to show, not just tell, and the story is full of original audio recordings, archival video footage, new interviews with many key players and shiny cartoon montages that help Scandal! avoid endless talking heads.
A colorful cast moves the story along at pace. From brash Cannes-based British ex-pat Nick Gold (“a bad investor, but an investor”) to East London father and son duo Gary and Tom Kilbey, who seem ripped straight from a Guy Ritchie script.
Last year we called McCrum’s Money men a “very deep dive into the madness and chaos”. We recommended it as an excellent read for those already comfortable with the Wirecard story.
While based on that book, Scandal! Brings down Wirecard is something completely different.
It’s both a safe introduction to “fintech” for the true-crime Netflix generation who will find the story engaging, and a full-color retelling for industry insiders to finally see (and not just read) the story of Wirecard’s demise.
Scandal! Brings down Wirecard is available on Netflix now.
