SoftBank's investment and partnership with Wirecard has renewed scrutiny about the Japanese tech conglomerate's investment strategy. : SoftBank has come under renewed scrutiny about its investment strategy — but this time it's about one of the Japanese tech conglomerate's lesser-known bets. Last year, the company made a 900 million euros ($1 billion) investment in Wirecard, as part of a broader tie-up between the two on digital payments. But that deal has raised eyebrows now due to a deepening accounting crisis at the German payments processor.