Germany, investigations at Deutsche Bank linked to Abramovich

Berlin (Germany), Jan. 28 (LaPresse) – According to information from Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung (Sz), the ongoing investigations at Deutsche Bank for suspected money laundering are linked to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. The former owner of the Chelsea football club has been sanctioned by the EU since March 2022 in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and was a client of Deutsche Bank. According to information provided by Sz, the bank allegedly failed to timely submit one or more suspicious activity reports concerning Abramovich’s companies. In the past, Deutsche Bank has been accused of not examining money laundering with sufficient care and of submitting suspicious activity reports too late. For example, at the end of April 2022, investigators from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bka) and the financial supervisory authority BaFin searched the bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt. The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority temporarily appointed a special representative to the bank to monitor progress in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The mandate was revoked at the end of 2024.