FBI Conducting Criminal Probe Of Deutsche Bank Money Laundering Lapses

15 April 2019, Hessen, Frankfurt/Main: A sculpture in front of a Deutsche Bank branch. Financial experts consider a merger of the bank with Commerzbank to be possible. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa (Photo by Boris Roessl... 15 April 2019, Hessen, Frankfurt/Main: A sculpture in front of a Deutsche Bank branch. Financial experts consider a merger of the bank with Commerzbank to be possible. Photo: Boris Roessler/dpa (Photo by Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has an active criminal probe into whether Deutsche Bank broke anti-money laundering laws, the New York Times reports.

Agents have reportedly tried to establish contact with a former Deutsche Bank compliance employee who sounded the alarm about transactions made by Kushner Companies, the family business of President Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner.

Those transactions purportedly involved money that was sent to Russian entities. The bank reportedly did not file suspicious activity reports with the Treasury Department, as would have been required by law.

FBI agents also reportedly contacted the son of a deceased executive from the German lender’s U.S. branch, who sat on the oversight board of one of the bank’s subsidiaries. The man’s son reportedly supplied the government with internal bank documents and messages.

“Agents told the son, Val Broeksmit, that the Deutsche Bank investigation began with an inquiry into the bank’s work for Russian money launderers and had since expanded to cover a broader array of potential misconduct at the bank and at other financial institutions,” the article reads.

The criminal investigation comes as multiple House panels are probing Trump’s financial history. Those investigations have included subpoenas to Deutsche Bank, which are now being litigated in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals as the President fights to stop them from being carried out.

Read the New York Times report here.

Latest Muckraker
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: