Several SoftBank executives held calls last month to discuss potential legal risks with their large investment into Wirecard so soon before the payments company collapsed; SoftBank has said it took allegations of accounting irregularities at Wirecard seriously but had no reason to believe they were true at the time of the bond investment, a spokesman told the Wall Street Journal; SoftBank has made their name on taking big bets, some that have not paid off like WeWork; SoftBank set certain conditions before the deal went though, including addressing the accounting irregularities in deal documents; SoftBank also agreed to introduce Wirecard to dozens of tech startups that were in their portfolio; before the convertible bonds were issued they were repackaged into new securities and sold to hedge funds, private banks and mutual funds; more stories came out a few months later and SoftBank called for an outside audit of the company; SoftBank might not face legal trouble for their investment but the firm will take another hit to a reputation that is becoming increasingly dinged up. Wall Street Journal.
