BERLIN (Reuters) -German financial watchdog BaFin is examining the financial reports of Adler Group, one of Germany’s biggest landlords, a spokesperson for BaFin said on Thursday.
The spokesperson, confirming a report that first appeared in Handelsblatt, declined to elaborate further.
The accounting investigation follows allegations made against Adler by short seller Fraser Perring’s Viceroy Research.
Viceroy Research, in a report published on Oct. 6, 2021, said Adler Group’s “balance sheet has been artificially inflated to a significant degree, its shares are not investible”, causing the group’s shares to tumble. Adler rejected the allegations https://www.reuters.com/article/adler-report-idUSKBN2GW1X0.
Frankfurt prosecutors are in contact with BaFin about Adler’s finances, a spokesperson confirmed.
A spokesperson for Adler declined to comment on ongoing investigations.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan, Tom Sims and Matthias Inverardi; Editing by Paul Carrel and Edmund Blair)