Prosecutors, police search Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt HQ
Bank says the search involves suspicious transactions it had itself passed on to authorities and that it is co-operating fully
29 April 2022 - 15:28
byTom Sims and Frank Siebelt
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The headquarters of Germany's Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. Picture: REUTERS/RALPH ORLOWSKI
Frankfurt — Prosecutors, federal police and other officials searched Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt on Friday in a move Germany’s largest lender said was linked to suspicions of money laundering it had reported to the authorities.
Under CEO Christian Sewing, Deutsche Bank has been trying to repair its reputation after a series of embarrassing and costly regulatory failings.
In a statement, Deutsche Bank said the search involved suspicious transactions it had itself passed on to authorities and that it was co-operating fully.
Prosecutors said they had a search warrant but declined to elaborate. They said representatives of financial regulator BaFin were also taking part.
BaFin and federal police declined to comment.
The bank’s shares fell more than 3% after news of the search and were down 2.7% in early afternoon in Frankfurt.
Problems with money laundering have landed the bank in hot water in the past.
The US department ofjustice has been investigating it for years, for example, over trades that authorities said were used to launder $10bn (R157.5bn) out of Russia, which has led to the German bank being fined nearly $700m (R11bn).
In 2018, BaFin took the unusual step of installing KPMG as a special monitor at Deutsche to oversee progress on money laundering controls.
Last year, BaFin ordered Deutsche to enact further safeguards to prevent money laundering and the regulator widened the auditor's mandate.
Deutsche has said it has beefed up resources to combat money laundering.
This week, the bank posted a better-than-expected 17% rise in first-quarter profit as investment banking revenue climbed, but it warned that the conflict in Ukraine could hurt annual earnings.
A Reuters witness said that there was no sign of authorities outside the bank’s headquarters on Friday.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Prosecutors, police search Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt HQ
Bank says the search involves suspicious transactions it had itself passed on to authorities and that it is co-operating fully
Frankfurt — Prosecutors, federal police and other officials searched Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt on Friday in a move Germany’s largest lender said was linked to suspicions of money laundering it had reported to the authorities.
Under CEO Christian Sewing, Deutsche Bank has been trying to repair its reputation after a series of embarrassing and costly regulatory failings.
In a statement, Deutsche Bank said the search involved suspicious transactions it had itself passed on to authorities and that it was co-operating fully.
Prosecutors said they had a search warrant but declined to elaborate. They said representatives of financial regulator BaFin were also taking part.
BaFin and federal police declined to comment.
The bank’s shares fell more than 3% after news of the search and were down 2.7% in early afternoon in Frankfurt.
Problems with money laundering have landed the bank in hot water in the past.
The US department ofjustice has been investigating it for years, for example, over trades that authorities said were used to launder $10bn (R157.5bn) out of Russia, which has led to the German bank being fined nearly $700m (R11bn).
In 2018, BaFin took the unusual step of installing KPMG as a special monitor at Deutsche to oversee progress on money laundering controls.
Last year, BaFin ordered Deutsche to enact further safeguards to prevent money laundering and the regulator widened the auditor's mandate.
Deutsche has said it has beefed up resources to combat money laundering.
This week, the bank posted a better-than-expected 17% rise in first-quarter profit as investment banking revenue climbed, but it warned that the conflict in Ukraine could hurt annual earnings.
A Reuters witness said that there was no sign of authorities outside the bank’s headquarters on Friday.
Reuters
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