October 14, 2020

Deutsche Bank announces end of German money laundering investigation

On October 13, 2020, Deutsche Bank announced the end of a criminal investigation, related to allegations that it aided and abetted money laundering transactions that it  handled as a correspondent bank for Danske Bank Estonia.  Deutsche Bank ended its relationship as a correspondent bank with Danske Bank Estonia in October of 2015.  Prosecutors decided to close the investigation because there was insufficient evidence that a violation occurred under Section 170 (2) of the German Code of Criminal Procedure.  However, Deutsche Bank was fined € 13.5 million ($15.9 million) for a separate incident related to its failure to submit Suspicious Activity Reports in a timely matter between 2010 and 2015. 

In July 2020, the New York State Department of Financial Services imposed a fine of $150 million on Deutsche Bank in connection with the bank’s handling of accounts for Jeffrey Epstein, and AML failings related to correspondent relationships with Danske Bank Estonia and FBME Bank.

Deutsche Bank Press Release