UK, US authorities fine Deutsche Bank $629 million for allowing $10 billion in false trades
Regulators from both countries said the bank's actions could have allowed Russian businessmen to launder their money.
Financial regulators in the United Kingdom and the United States on Tuesday fined Germany’s Deutsche Bank a combined $629 million (approximately Rs 4,244.92 crore) for organising $10 billion (approximately Rs 67,486.90 crore) in false trades. Regulators from both countries said the bank’s actions could have allowed Russian businessmen to launder their money out of Russia, Bloomberg reported.
The regulators also criticised the bank for not knowing the customers involved in the sham trades and the source of money used in the transactions, which allowed the organisation to support its revenue after the 2008 global financial crisis. The New York Department of Financial Services said the bank used a series of trades that converted roubles into dollars “through security trades that had no economic purpose”, Reuters reported.
The regulator added that Deutsche Bank also missed several opportunities to prevent the trades. “These flaws allowed a corrupt group of bank traders and offshore entities to improperly and covertly transfer more than $10 billion,” it said. However, neither of the regulators said whether the bank’s top management were aware of the trades.
The fines come a week after the bank was fined $7.2 billion (approximately Rs 48,625.12 crore) by the US for selling toxic mortgage debts. The bank, Germany’s biggest, is expected by analysts to report an annual loss of €650 million (approximately Rs 4,732.12) crore later this week.