Nigeria's WTO candidate gets regional backing:

BERLIN - In what could be one of the biggest financial frauds of recent years, German payments provider Wirecard on Monday admitted 1.9 billion euros that auditors say are missing from its accounts likely "do not exist."

The scandal has already claimed the scalp of founder and chief executive Markus Braun, and adds to a series of recent German upsets.

Over the past decade, business headlines have been dominated by repeated financial infractions at Deutsche Bank and the "dieselgate" emissions fraud that has cost Volkswagen more than 30 billion euros.

In Wirecard's case, 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) supposedly sitting in trust accounts in the Philippines made up a quarter of the company's balance sheet.

But "on the basis of further examination... there is a prevailing likelihood that the bank trust account balances in the amount of 1.9 billion EUR do not exist," Wirecard said Monday.

The admission follows more than a year of reporting, especially by the Financial Times, on accounting irregularities in the company's Asian division.

Now Wirecard is in crisis talks with creditors and is "examining a broad range of possible further measures to ensure continuation of its business operations," including restructuring and selling off or simply halting some activities.

Interim CEO James Freis has tasked investment bank Houlihan Lokey with the tough negotiations.

But investors' confidence appeared to be evaporating fast, as shares in Wirecard were trading below 16 euros early Monday afternoon -- down from almost 100 last Wednesday.

GENEVA - The West African regional bloc ECOWAS is backing Nigeria’s candidate to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and calls on other African countries to follow, a document showed on Monday, in a possible step towards uniting Africa behind her.

“The ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government...calls on other African countries as well as non-African countries to endorse her candidature,” the document, signed by Niger’s President and ECOWAS chairman Mahamadou

Issoufou said, referring

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

It was dated June 19 but was not finalised until Monday.

Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo is stepping down as WTO head a year early at the end of August.

His successor will need to steer reforms and negotiations in the face of rising protectionism, a deep recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and growing trade tensions, notably between the United States and China. to

Nigeria’s Dr.

There is broad support for an African candidate and a woman, since neither have headed the Geneva-based body in the past, sources following the process said.

Supporters of Okonjo-Iweala, a former minister and World Bank managing director, vaunt her negotiating skills, including clinching a multi-billion dollar debt relief package for Nigeria.

Africa has previously struggled to unite behind one WTO candidate and this time has so far been no different.