German federal police searched the offices of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and Berlin on Wednesday morning, with raids ordered by prosecutors in Frankfurt.
About 30 investigators entered the bank’s Frankfurt headquarters in plain clothes, according to Der Spiegel, which first reported the news. Another Deutsche Bank location in Berlin was also searched.
Prosecutors say they are investigating unknown managers and employees of Deutsche Bank on suspicion of money laundering. The bank is believed to have had business dealings with foreign companies that may have been used to launder money.
Media firm Süddeutsche Zeitung has reported that the case could involve a well-known former client of the bank: Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Abramovich has been under EU sanctions since March 2022 because of his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Authorities are looking into whether Deutsche Bank may have failed to properly handle anti–money laundering checks in past transactions involving him.
One focus of the investigation, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung, is whether suspicious transactions were reported to authorities too late. Banks are required to report any suspicious payments immediately, and failing to do so can lead to fines.
Deutsche Bank confirmed that searches are taking place and said it is fully cooperating with prosecutors. The Frankfurt prosecutor’s office declined to give details about the business relationships or the transactions under investigation.
The searches come just a day before Deutsche Bank is due to present its annual results, where it is expected to announce its highest profit in many years.
Wednesday’s raid is not the first time Deutsche Bank offices have been the subject of a police probe.
In April 2022, German authorities raided Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt over suspected money laundering, linked to the late filings of two Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), which resulted in a €7mn fine. In May 2022, police again raided the Frankfurt offices because of accusations of greenwashing against the lender’s asset manager DWS. This was followed by another raid in October of the same year, prompted by an investigation into tax fraud.
In 2018, around 170 police officers inspected the Frankfurt headquarters after alleged failures to flag suspicious transactions routed through an offshore unit in the British Virgin Islands. That probe did not lead to criminal charges, although the lender was fined €15mn for shortcomings in its anti–money‑laundering safeguards.
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