Prosecutors search Deutsche Bank HQ in money laundering investigation

Prosecutors search Deutsche Bank HQ in money laundering investigation


A logo stands on display above the headquarters of Deutsche Bank AG at the Aurora Business Park in Moscow, Russia.

Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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 Chief Executive 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 cooperating 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% following 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 U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating it for years, for example, over trades that authorities said were used to launder $10 billion out of Russia, which has led to the German bank being fined nearly $700 million.

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.



Source

Chinese smartphone company Honor gets new investors as it gears up for IPO
World

Chinese smartphone company Honor gets new investors as it gears up for IPO

Chinese smartphone company Honor has released devices that fold up to be nearly as thin as an iPhone. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images BEIJING — Chinese smartphone company Honor on Thursday announced backing from new investors as the Huawei spinoff prepares for an initial public offering. The new backers are: China Telecom — one […]

Read More
Samsung Electronics’ chip profit shrinks 40% from the previous quarter
World

Samsung Electronics’ chip profit shrinks 40% from the previous quarter

Customers shop at a Samsung mobile store inside a shopping mall in New Delhi. Reuters | Anindito Mukherjee Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported third-quarter sales and operating profit slightly above its own expectations, but its chip business posted a sharply lower profit from the previous quarter. The semiconductor unit reported third-quarter operating profit of 3.86 […]

Read More
Asia markets mostly slip ahead of Bank of Japan decision, China factory activity figures
World

Asia markets mostly slip ahead of Bank of Japan decision, China factory activity figures

Kazuo Ueda, governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), speaks during a news conference at the central bank’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets slipped Thursday as investors look to the Bank of Japan’s rate decision, as well as key business activity figures from China. Economists polled by Reuters […]

Read More