searches at Deutsche Bank in a "whitening" investigation

The German court has ordered the search Thursday, November 29, six premises of Deutsche Bank, whose headquarters in Frankfurt, in a money laundering investigation triggered by the revelations of the "Panama Papers".

The first German bank, which has been struggling for years to restore revenue, is suspected "To have helped clients create companies in tax havens"says the Frankfurt prosecutor's office in a statement.

If "offshore" structures are not, by themselves, illegal, they allow "Launder money from criminal offenses", which forces banks to "Signal" to the authorities any suspicion on this subject, specifies the same source.

Gold, Deutsche Bank "Has not communicated the suspicions of money laundering against offshore companies practicing tax evasion", before the revelation in April 2016 of the scandal of the "Panama Papers", thus missing its legal obligation, estimates the floor office.

According to the Frankfurt magistrates, the bank nevertheless "Sufficient elements from the beginning of his relationship" with customers based in tax havens.

A turnover of 311 million euros

In 2016 alone, says the prosecutor's office, a branch of Deutsche Bank in the British Virgin Islands has supported "More than 900 customers representing a turnover of 311 million euros".

Formally, German law does not provide for a prosecution against a company, the investigations are aimed "Two employees of Deutsche Bank aged 46 and 50, as well as a number of unidentified managers of the company", according to the floor.

Some 170 magistrates, police and tax service agents began early Thursday morning searches of the premises of the bank in Frankfurt, Eschborn and Gross-Umstadt, seizing "Many written and electronic documents". The prosecution has not reported any arrest.

"It is true that the police are currently investigating several sites of our bank, (…) in connection with the "Panama Papers" ", confirmed Deutsche Bank, promising to "Cooperate fully".

Long list of difficulties

Deutsche Bank is the second largest European bank overtaken by the Panama Papers scandal, revealed by The world and another 108 newsrooms in 2016 with the leak of millions of confidential documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, detailing more than 214,000 offshore companies and their shareholders.

In April 2016, already, the headquarters of the French bank Societe Generale had been searched as part of a vast investigation opened in France to "Laundering of aggravated tax evasion" and targeting 500 suspects.

For Deutsche Bank, which has plummeted for ten years in the hierarchy of global banks, is subject to thousands of legal proceedings and suffers on the stock market, this survey adds to a long list of difficulties.

At the end of September, the German Constabulary of Markets had made the unprecedented decision to launch an audit to evaluate the progress of the group in the fight against financial crime (money laundering, financing of terrorism or organized crime). "We agree with Bafin that we can improve"acknowledged Deutsche Bank.

In January 2017, the first German bank was fined nearly $ 630 million as part of a US and UK investigation into money laundering from Russia.

Last week again, Deutsche Bank was splashed by investigations into Danish bank Danske Bank, whose German bank was the correspondent for eight years.