Deutsche Bank AG Settles Money Laundering Probe Worth $7.1 Million

Deutsche Bank AG settled a money laundering case of $7.1 million over the probe by Frankfurt prosecutors for violations of AML regulations

The Deutsche Bank AG looked up an issue of a money laundering case that was put in by Frankfurt prosecutors on whether the bank violated money laundering prevention laws for 7.01 million euros ($7.1 million). 

The bank agreed to the administrative penalty notice and accepted to pay an amount as per the statements of the lender. The Frankfurt prosecutors verified on completion of the investigative measures according to which the bank failed to file 701 reports of suspicious illicit activities. It mentioned that Deutsche Bank acted “thoughtlessly”.

The settlement came in a short time after the law enforcement officials raided the headquarters of the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt as a part of the investigation. The bank is charged for processing the payments of Bashar Al-Assad the president of Syria and his family, though the role is limited to just providing a correspondent bank for another lender.

Deutsche Bank settles a probe by Frankfurt prosecutors into whether it was late to report suspicions of money laundering https://t.co/4QNjsTuAyP

— Bloomberg (@business) July 21, 2022

The bank should have assessed its involvement in most transactions and responded to warning signs as early as 2017. It Includes a French criminal case that resulted in a conviction, according to the prosecution. The Frankfurt probe began in 2021 after Deutsche Bank finally submitted two batches of bulk reports.

According to prosecutors, Deutsche Bank did not have a responsibility to investigate the clients of the lender it worked for, so a criminal investigation into money laundering itself was discontinued.

The police raided the Deutsche bank’s headquarters again in late May to look up on the funding and investment arm DWS over suspicions of greenwashing. It is one of the largest asset managers in Europe. The Chief Executive Officer of DWS,  Asoka Woehrmann also stepped down shortly after the raid.

Suggested Read: Deutsche Bank to Revise its Compliance and Risk Management Functions