Deutsche Bank Prosecutors Said to Obtain Client List in Raid
Deutsche Bank Prosecutors Said to Obtain Client List During Raid
(Bloomberg) -- Frankfurt prosecutors obtained a list of more than 900 clients from Deutsche Bank AG in a case tied to the Panama Papers, a key piece of evidence in an investigation that spurred a raid at the German lender’s headquarters in November.
The list contains the names of individuals and entities mostly located outside Germany, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. The raid by law enforcement officials focused on the role of a former Deutsche Bank wealth management entity in the British Virgin Islands.
Deutsche Bank and representatives for the prosecutor declined to comment.
The Panama Papers showed that Deutsche Bank employees may have helped customers set up off-shore companies in tax havens, prosecutors said at the time. Those companies were allegedly involved in tax evasion, they said, adding that 900 clients were allegedly served via the unit. Prosecutors also seized extensive data on paper and electronically, the people familiar with the matter said.
The footage of rows of police cars parked in front of the bank’s two downtown Frankfurt towers in November fueled concerns about potentially expensive legal risks and sent the share price to an all-time low.
Deutsche Bank fell 2 percent at 3:20 p.m. in Frankfurt trading, bringing losses over the past 12 months to 51 percent.
Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing expressed surprise at the raid, saying in a newspaper interview at the time that the bank had considered the case closed, having examined it in “close cooperation with supervising authorities” in 2016, when news about the Panama Papers first broke. The head of Germany’s financial supervisor Bafin, Felix Hufeld, said a year ago that the German banks probed over the Panama Papers had “largely” complied with existing money-laundering rules.
Two Deutsche Bank employees also targeted by the investigation remain employed, Sewing has said. The bank isn’t currently planning to set aside money for potential fines stemming from the findings of the raid, a person familiar has said.
--With assistance from Karin Matussek.
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, Christian Baumgaertel
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