Deutsche Bank Headquarters Raided by German Authorities in Money Laundering Probe
Deutsche Bank had its Frankfurt headquarters raided by Germany’s federal police office, criminal prosecutors and financial watchdog BaFin on Friday (April 29), the Financial Times (FT) reported.
Prosecutors said a warrant had been issued by Frankfurt’s district court on a suspicion that unnamed employees at the bank might have broken money laundering laws, though no further details were given.
Deutsche Bank spoke about the raid and said it had been linked to suspicious activity reports issued by the bank, which had to do with money laundering. The bank said it was cooperating with the authorities.
According to the report, one anonymous source told the FT that the raid had to do with a payment by Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of the Syrian president who was sentenced over money laundering in France last year. While he wasn’t a client of Deutsche Bank, around five years ago, the bank had cleared at least one payment on behalf of a lender where he had an account.
In February, PYMNTS wrote that charges against Deutsche Bank, Citigroup and four senior bankers that were related to a “significant cartel case” by the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had been dropped.
Read more: Criminal Charges Against Deutsche Bank, Citigroup Dropped in Australian Banking Cartel Case
The case had dated back to 2015, and was thrown out because the ACCC realized it wouldn’t be likely to secure convictions, avoiding what would’ve been one of the biggest white-collar criminal trials. Similar charges against Australian bank ANZ and other senior bankers were dropped in 2021.
The report said the cartel case was related to a share placement by ANZ in August 2015, along with phone calls that had underwritten a fundraising round. It also included discussions about future plans to sell the remaining stock on their books.
The ACCC said the bankers’ actions came out to “cartel behavior.” The banks said their work had been part of stabilizing the market after a large placement.