German filmmaker Gabriela Sperl is developing the film alongside producer SFFP, which tracks the rise and fall of the financial payments firm Wirecard.

Once regarded as the posterchild for German tech innovation, the firm collapsed in June 2020 after it was revealed that €1.9 billion was missing from its accounts.

The documentary spells out the international web of lies, cover ups and money laundering that led to the swindle.

Sperl has exclusive access to those closest to the scandal, including several informants.

Among them are the two award-winning reporters from WirtschaftsWoche, Melanie Bergermann and Volker ter Haseborg, who will publish a related book in November called The Wirecard story - the story of a billion-dollar lie.

Sperl is also developing a fictional mini-series for Sky Studios centred on the subject.

Sperl said: "Wirecard is a global story of corruption and greed, of masterminds and narcissists, of the driven, dreamers and power mongers who, trapped in their own realities, carried others away in their insatiable desire for more.

“This is a story of betrayal, lack of responsibility and loss of values - and it's about the brave ones who, despite persecution, ridicule and malice, did not let themselves be stopped from bringing the truth to light.

“Wirecard is also a story of the upright, a story about moral courage, about role models, who we need today more than ever.”

Filming for the documentary will begin in early autumn 2020.