An investigation by a U.S. congressional committee into Deutsche Bank AG's business relations with Russian oligarchs has identified possible shortfalls in the Frankfurt-based lender's controls against money laundering, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The probe by the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee has so far found instances when the bank's employees in the U.S. and other territories flagged suspicious details about new Russian customers and existing transactions but were allegedly neglected by managers, the sources said. The committee is also reportedly examining if Deutsche was involved in the funneling of dirty money into the U.S. when it acted as a correspondent bank.
Deutsche has been marred with controversy, particularly over its ties with President Donald Trump. Earlier in 2019, U.S. lawmakers were said to have been planning to examine the bank's attempts to sell a $600 million loan to Russian state-owned lender VTB Bank PJSC.
Media reports also recently purported that Deutsche already has tax returns requested by congressional Democrats seeking financial records related to Trump after it was subpoenaed in April to release information on its deals with the president and some of his family members. Trump sued the bank to prevent it from releasing the records, but a ruling on the case is yet to be made, and the bank has started and is still handing over information not directly related to Trump, one source reportedly told Reuters.
The U.S. House committee would reportedly continue with its investigation into the bank's anti-money laundering controls even if Trump's bid to block Deutsche from submitting records becomes successful.
The probe is still at an early stage and it remains unclear if the results would lead to regulatory or legal action against Deutsche, Reuters noted. A spokesman for the bank said it is fully cooperating with authorized investigations.
