Any allegation against the FT or any of its reporters or staff of market manipulation or unethical reporting in relation to Wirecard is baseless and false. It is a smokescreen obscuring the serious allegations that were revealed by the FT.

Our reporters have been investigating this company for four years, and in the last month published stories based on credible evidence of fraudulent accounting detailed in internal documents seen by the FT. Wirecard's response was also reported. These articles have a significant public interest and are free to read on FT.com.

We have not been contacted by the German financial regulator or the Munich prosecutor. Any investigation would therefore appear to be at the very earliest stage, with investigators not yet having spoken to those they say they are investigating.