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Berlin (dpa) - When coming to terms with the Wirecard scandal, the CSU finance politician Hans Michelbach brought the auditing company EY out of government contracts into play.
Michelbach justifies this with the auditor's refusal to testify to the Bundestag committee of inquiry about the Wirecard bankruptcy.
"In any case, it is clear that an auditing and consulting company that supports such a blockade course can no longer be a business partner for the federal government," said Michelbach of the "Augsburger Allgemeine" (Monday).
The CSU politician is the vice chairman of the committee.
EY is one of the largest consulting and auditing companies worldwide.
The federal government is also one of the customers.
For years, EY audited the annual financial statements of the scandalous group Wirecard, but did not find out about the missing billions.
On Thursday, three of the company's auditors will answer questions from members of the Bundestag's investigative committee.
But they want to refuse to give evidence and rely on their duty of confidentiality.
The fact that the insolvency administrator has released them does not change anything, lawyers said in a letter.
Michelbach does not want to accept the argument.
"An explanation of the Wirecard scandal is to be blocked under flimsy pretexts," he said.
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EY said on Monday that clarifying what happened at Wirecard was the top priority for the company.
EY has the "clear intention" to contribute to the political investigation of the case.
"So far, this has only been possible within the limits of the statutory and professional confidentiality obligations to which we as German auditors are subject and which currently do not allow us to provide specific information about Wirecard and in particular about our audit activities."
Any breach of the duty of confidentiality has criminal and professional consequences.
The employees of EY, who were summoned as witnesses before the committee of inquiry, are currently still subject to this statutory and professional confidentiality obligation.
The committee of inquiry was asked to support a legally secure clarification of the situation and thus to bring about an effective release from the obligation of confidentiality.
Comprehensive statements would be possible in the investigative committee on the basis of such a strived for legally secure delivery.
The SPD politician Cansel Kiziltepe criticized: "EY apparently does not want to help clarify the Wirecard scandal."
A proper final examination cannot currently be assumed.
Previously, representatives of the FDP, the Greens and the Left had criticized the auditors.