Deutsche Bank offices raided

The headquarters of Germany's largest bank public were raided early this morning by prosecutors who allege that staff helped clients launder money from criminal activities.

170 police and other officials raided the bank’s twin tower blocks in Frankfurt and other locations across the city. Paperwork and electronic documents seized during the raid were hauled away in police vehicles.

Deutsche confirmed that police had taken place and that it was co-operating fully with the probe.

The current investigation began in August and focuses on activities from 2013 onwards. In 2016 alone, a Deutsche Bank subsidiary registered in the British Virgin Islands generated business worth more than $350 million, prosecutors allege.

The investigation was sparked by revelations in the 2016 "Panama Papers" – the name given to a huge tranche of information leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm.

Other banks have already been fined as a result of information contained in the Panama Papers.

Deutsche had earlier been connected with a money laundering scandal at Denmark's Danske Bank, processing more than $200 billion in payments on the Danish bank’s behalf through Estonia.

In 2017, Deutsche was fined $630m by US and UK regulators in connection with a separate Russian money laundering scheme. In that scheme criminals were able to move $10 billion of Russian money out of the country via US and UK share transactions.

According to CNN Business Deutsche employs some 95,000 people worldwide. With assets of $1.6 trillion it is considered a significant player in the global financial system.

The bank operates from more than 30 locations in the US including sites in Dallas and Houston.

In the last quarter the bank’s pre-tax profits fell 45% compared to the same period last year, 47% for the year to date. Deutsche shares slipped 5% in morning trading.

(Image : Michael Probert/AP)