A decade or so ago, German banking giant Deutsche Bank AG was counted among the biggest banks in the world, but the financial crisis of 2008 hit the bank hard. Since the financial crisis, the bank has struggled to put its business into top gear again, and now it is faced with a legal issue that could pile on the pressure on Germany’s biggest bank. As everyone knows, money laundering is a genuine issue and most banks which serve customers of varied nationalities, place measures to stop such illegal activity. In a new development, it has emerged that congressional investigators in the United States have found that Deutsche Bank, might have been at fault for possible lapses in money laundering controls while doing business with Russian oligarchs.
Deutsche has cooperated fully with the investigation and has handed over internal emails, documents as well as transaction details to the investigators. According to reports, the investigators found that the employees of the bank, located in the United States, had raised concerns about newly acquired Russian clients. However, those warning had been ignored at a higher level. One of the sources has stated that, the investigators are now trying to figure out whether Deutsche Bank had been involved in funneling questionable funds into the US. Although, it is true that the investigation and the findings thus far are alarming, it is important to note that the investigation is still at a very early stage.
One source also said that there is no guarantee whether any action is going to be taken against Deutsche Bank in the end. When the news broke, a spokesperson for the bank stated that, Deutsche is not in a position to comment about an ongoing investigation, but it is committed to fully cooperating. The spokesperson also said that, the bank is trying to plug the gaps in its systems so that such money laundering does not happen in the future. He said,
We have worked to address them, taken disciplinary measures with regards to certain individuals and reviewed our client onboarding and monitoring processes.
Money laundering has been a major issue over the past few years, and some of the biggest banks in the world have been in the middle of such controversies.
