Deutsche Bank suspected of money laundering: the judiciary searches the headquarters

Deutsche Bank was surprised by an unwelcome visitor on Friday. Officials from the public prosecutor’s office, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the financial supervisory authority Bafin have made representations to the headquarters of the Dax group in Frankfurt. The background is a search warrant by the district court in Frankfurt. The authority initially did not want to give any further details “due to the ongoing investigative measures”.

Deutsche Bank said it was an investigative measure “in connection with reports of suspected money laundering that the bank had submitted”. The institute cooperates “fully with the authorities”. Beyond that, the bank declined to comment.

Bank employees are required by law to immediately report any suspicion that customers are attempting to launder funds from criminal transactions or that transactions are related to the financing of terrorism. Such suspicious transaction reports often concern the correspondent banking sector. There, Deutsche Bank, with its global reach, helps other financial institutions to process payment transactions.

Money laundering at Deutsche Bank is probably an isolated case

According to information from the German Press Agency, the investigators accuse Germany’s largest financial institution of having submitted the money laundering reports too late, although there had already been suspicions earlier. The “Handelsblatt” reported, citing a person familiar with the searches, that the search was “about an individual case from the customer sphere”.

Deutsche Bank shares turned negative on Friday after the public prosecutor’s action became known. In the early afternoon, the paper was one of the biggest losers in the German share index with a minus of around three percent to almost 9.34 euros.