Raids on Deutsche Bank buildings in Germany… What’s the story?

On Wednesday, judicial authorities in Germany carried out a campaign of raids in buildings belonging to Deutsche Bank in the cities of Frankfurt and Berlin on suspicion of money laundering. The public prosecutor in Frankfurt said, according to Reuters, that the charges were directed against unidentified officials and employees of the largest commercial bank in Germany.

Deutsche Bank confirmed that prosecutors are searching its offices, and according to the daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the investigation is linked to suspected crimes in the bank’s dealings with companies linked to Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich.

“We can confirm that the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office is taking action at Deutsche Bank’s headquarters,” a bank spokesman told AFP, adding that it was “fully cooperating with prosecutors.”

According to the German newspaper, the raids took place at the bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt and its offices in Berlin. The European Union imposed sanctions on Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Deutsche Bank is under investigation on suspicion of not reporting potential money laundering operations in a timely manner, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported.

In details reported by Bloomberg, the German bank’s shares fell after the news spread, falling by up to 3.6% in Frankfurt. As of 1:56 p.m., shares were trading down 3.4%.

The raid is a setback for Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing, who is widely credited with saving the bank and ending a long period of scandal and losses after taking office nearly eight years ago. The bank has been subjected to repeated raids in the past.

A Deutsche Bank spokesperson said in an email statement to Bloomberg: “We confirm the presence of the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office within our offices. The bank is fully cooperating with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and we cannot comment further.”