In Germany, auditors may only testify in public, criminal or
civil proceedings if expressly released from confidentiality
obligations by their clients. Otherwise, they incur criminal and
civil liability. In the context of the Wirecard scandal, the
insolvency administrator had granted such a release in an
investigation carried out by the German Parliament, but
Wirecard's auditors, Ernst & Young (EY), still refused to
testify in the absence of a further express release by
Wirecard's former management. EY's position led to the
imposition of a fine for contempt against two individuals and EY
took the case to the Federal Supreme Court to seek clarification on
this undecided point.
The Federal Supreme Court has now confirmed that release by a
receiver is sufficient to relieve auditors of the confidentiality
obligations owed to their clients and that EY were indeed obligated
to testify. The court, however, did not uphold the fine because it
acknowledged that the
