National Litigation Firm Labaton Sucharow Announces Investigation of Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) in the Wake of Money Laundering Allegations

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Labaton Sucharow a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB).

On September 20, Buzzfeed reported a comprehensive investigation of global financial institutions, having obtained "twenty-two thousand pages of never-before-released government documents." Among the documents were more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports, or SARs, which banks and other financial institutions submitted to the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, when they observe transactions that suggest money laundering or other illegal activity. Such reports can support investigations and intelligence gathering — but by themselves they are not evidence of a crime. The FinCen files included suspicious activity reports filed by nearly 90 financial institutions.

The FinCEN Files investigation reveals that Deutsche managers, including top executives, had direct knowledge for years of serious failings that left the bank vulnerable to money launderers. Documents show two warnings sent to committees that included Paul Achleitner, Deutsche’s chair, and one sent to the bank's supervisory board.

Buzzfeed reports -- Another top Deutsche executive, Christian Sewing, ran the audit division when one of its teams gave the Moscow office a clean bill of health, despite evidence that it could not even produce a list of its clients, let alone verify that they were who they said they were. Sewing is now Deutsche’s CEO.

Deutsche Bank appears to have facilitated more than half of the $2 trillion of suspicious transactions that were flagged to the U.S. government over nearly two decades, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

On September 21, premarket, Deutsche Bank was trading down over 7% on heavy volume.

If you are a former or current stockholder, derivative, or options holder of Deutsche Bank and wish to learn more or discuss the issues surrounding the investigation, please contact David J. Schwartz using the toll-free number [phone] or via email at [e-mail].

About the Firm

Labaton Sucharow LLP is one of the world’s leading complex litigation firms representing clients in securities, antitrust, corporate governance and shareholder rights, and consumer cybersecurity and data privacy litigation. Labaton Sucharow has been recognized for its excellence by the courts and peers, and it is consistently ranked in leading industry publications. Offices are located in New York, NY, Wilmington, DE, and Washington, D.C. More information about Labaton Sucharow is available at http://www.labaton.com.