FILE PHOTO: People walk past the Wirecard booth at the computer games fair Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Wirecard on Monday said that an external law firm it brought in to investigate actions by a member of its finance team in Singapore made no conclusive findings of criminal misconduct by any employee of the company.

The payments firm contested articles from the Financial Times about alleged financial irregularities, which had sent its shares down 40 percent since Jan. 30.

Wirecard said that in April 2018, a member of its Singapore team raised concerns about alleged actions of a finance team member in Singapore.

The company then started an investigation, which found no evidence to support the allegations. “Furthermore, there were indications that the allegations could be related to personal animosity between the employees involved”, the company said.

Nonetheless, Wirecard hired law firm Rajah & Tann for a review which is about to be completed, but has so far not brought up findings of criminal misconduct, the electronic payments company said.