Shares in troubled payments company Wirecard AG crashed Thursday after the company again delayed publication of its 2019 annual report because its auditor said it had been deceived over evidence of €1.9bn ($2.1bn) in cash balances.

Wirecard, based in Germany, said its management board was working intensively with auditor Ernst & Young GmbH in Munich to clarify the situation. Shares in Wirecard, one of the biggest and fastest-growing European fintech companies, were down as much as 67% immediately after the announcement.