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Deutsche Bank agrees to pay $100M in penalties in bribery scandal


An exterior view of the twin tower headquarters of the 'Deutsche Bank' in Frankfurt Main, Germany, in 2018. Photo by Armando Babani/EPA-EFE


Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Deutsche Bank has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors under which it will pay more than $100 million in penalties after allegedly violating anti-bribery laws.

Brooklyn federal prosecutors announced the agreement Friday.

Prosecutors allege the bank paid millions of dollars in "referral fees" to consultants in countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and China that were actually bribes to fixers that gave the bank access to foreign officials.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation found that the bank made about $7 million in improper payments to fixers between 2009 and 2016, and made about $35 million from the resulting deals.

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Per the agreement, the bank will avoid prosecution but will "cooperate fully" with other investigations.

The bank has been repeatedly penalized in recent years by federal prosecutors and regulators for money laundering and violating international sanctions, and is the subject of a separate investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors regarding whether President Donald Trump misled or defrauded Deutsche Bank regarding his assets.

Private bankers at the bank who were responsible for lending to President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner resigned their roles in December.

Deutsche Bank has loaned Trump about $330 million in loans set to come due in 2023 and 2024.

"We take responsibility for these past actions, which took place between 2008 and 2017," said Deutsche Bank spokesman Dan Hunter. "Our thorough internal investigations, and full cooperation with the D.O.J. and S.E.C. investigations of these matters, reflect our transparency and determination to put these matters firmly in the past."