The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has imposed an administrative fine of €170,000 on Deutsche Bank AG. The fine was imposed against the bank after the regulator discovered that it had failed to promptly submit a report concerning suspicious transactions, an important aspect in preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
In a statement, BaFin stated that the bank's failure to promptly submit suspicious transaction reports has serious implications for the integrity of the financial sector and the broader efforts to combat illicit financial activities.
BaFin Intensifies Measures against Financial Misconduct
The regulator added that the submission of such reports allows authorities to take swift action, such as forwarding information to law enforcement agencies when necessary.
"Credit institutions must submit a report to the German Financial Intelligence Unit if they suspect that a business transaction or other transaction might be related to money laundering or terrorist financing," BaFin said.
It is not the first time that Deutsche Bank has been at loggerheads with the financial authorities. In September, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed a fine of $25 million against DWS Investment Management Americas Inc. (DIMA), a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank.
Deutsche Bank Faces Multiple Regulatory Actions
This penalty comes from two separate enforcement actions: DIMA's failure to institute an effective Anti-Money Laundering program and misleading statements about its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment practices. The alleged failure violated the Bank Secrecy Act and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network regulations.
Despite advising mutual funds with substantial assets, DIMA allegedly did not establish policies and procedures to detect money laundering activities as required by law. Gurbir Grewal, the Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, emphasized the importance of tailored AML programs for mutual funds.
Despite marketing itself as an ESG leader, the SEC found that DIMA failed to adequately implement its global ESG integration policy between August 2018 and late 2021.
