Deutsche Bank Comes Under Investigation Over Danske Bank Role

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG is being investigated by Frankfurt prosecutors over its role in one of Europe’s biggest money-laundering scandals.

Law enforcement officials on Tuesday visited the bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt to ask for information, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank said, confirming a report in German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

“Deutsche Bank has comprehensively examined the facts of the matter and has voluntarily provided the requested documents as far as possible,” the spokesman said by email. “The bank will continue to cooperate with the prosecutor.”

Germany’s biggest lender has long faced questions over its role in a scandal that saw more than $200 billion in suspicious transfers made through Danske Bank A/S’s Estonian unit. The vast majority of the money was routed through Deutsche Bank, which at the time served as correspondence bank for U.S. dollar payments at the Estonian business, people familiar with the matter have said.

The German lender’s role first came into focus a year ago when a whistle-blower highlighted its role in testimony to Danish lawmakers. The bank has since initiated a second internal review and has said that it’s investigation so far has not produced any evidence of wrongdoing.

In yet another twist in the Danske Bank saga, the former head of the bank’s Estonian unit has been found dead, according to police in the Baltic country.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Arons in Frankfurt at sarons@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Ross Larsen, Marion Dakers

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