Police Raid Deutsche Bank On Money Laundering Charges

A money-laundering probe stemming from the "Panama Papers" has led police to Deutsche Bank.

DW reports German Police Raid Deutsche Bank Over Suspected Money Laundering.

Federal police on Thursday raided the Frankfurt offices of Deutsche Bank. The Frankfurt prosecutor's office said the raids stemmed from an investigation into suspected money laundering at the German bank.

About 170 law enforcement agents took part in the operation. The investigation revolves around multiple Deutsche Bank employees, including two believed to still be working at the financial institution. 

According to prosecutors, Deutsche Bank is suspected of helping some 900 customers setup offshore shell companies in tax havens to "transfer money from criminal activities." They said some €311 million ($354 million) is believed to have been laundered, citing information gleaned from the so-called "Panama Papers."

The "Panama Papers" data leak comprised some 11.5 million documents and was leaked to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung by an anonymous source in 2015. At least 28 German entitieswere identified in the leak, according to reports at the time, including Deutsche Bank.

In the past, Deutsche Bank has acknowledged that its anti-money laundering efforts have fallen short of financial rules. In August, it confirmed that even after it was fined for helping Russian clients wash some $10 billion (€8.8 billion), its mechanisms to stop such criminal activity were still inefficient.

Deutsche Bank Monthly Chart

 

Fines vs Market Cap

Its derivatives book is also a suspicious mess and it flunked a Fed stress test.

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Gary Anderson 5 years ago Contributor's comment

Wow, troubles in the Eurozone. They make money the old fashioned way. This bank is not ready for a downturn.