By Paul J. Davies and Chong Koh Ping 



  Troubles at financial-technology giant Wirecard intensified Friday after two banks in the Philippines meant to be holding over $2 billion on behalf of the company said they don't have the cash and never did. 


  Shares in Wirecard resumed their freefall, erasing another $2.4 billion in market value, after losing nearly $9 billion in value on Thursday. The German company delayed its 2019 results after its auditor refused to sign off the accounts, believing it had been deceived over the existence of EUR1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) in cash supposedly held by the company. 


  The auditor, Ernst & Young GmbH, had become suspicious of letters purporting to confirm the existence of the accounts and the amounts held in them. The two Philippine banks confirmed on Friday that those letters were fraudulent. 


  "The document claiming the existence of a Wirecard account with BDO is a falsified document and carries forged signatures of bank officers," said a BDO spokesperson. It has reported the matter to the Philippine central bank. 


  In a statement, Bank of the Philippine Islands said: "Wirecard is not a client. Their external auditor presented to us a document that claimed that they are a client. We have determined that the document is spurious." 


  Wirecard didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 


  Markus Braun, chief executive of Wirecard, and its largest shareholder, tried to deflect blame in a company video posted early Friday. He said that the company could itself be a victim. "At present it cannot be ruled out that Wirecard has become the aggrieved party in a case of fraud of considerable proportions." 


  The missing EUR1.9 billion is meant to be held in accounts looked after by a trustee on behalf of Wirecard and payment-processing partners in some countries. In October, Wirecard appointed KPMG as an outside auditor to look into allegations about the company's accounting practices. In an April report, KPMG said it had problems obtaining evidence about the balances in question. 


  Write to Paul J. Davies at Paul.Davies@wsj.com and Chong Koh Ping at kohping.chong@wsj.com