On Wednesday, German judicial authorities conducted raids on buildings belonging to Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and Berlin on suspicion of money laundering. Reuters, citing Frankfurt's prosecutor's office, reported that charges are against unidentified officials and employees of Germany's largest commercial bank. Deutsche Bank confirmed that prosecutors are searching its offices. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the investigation is related to suspected crimes in the bank's dealings with companies linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The bank is fully cooperating with the prosecutor's office and cannot provide further comments. The European Union imposed sanctions on Abramovich following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that Deutsche Bank is under investigation for failing to report potential money laundering operations in a timely manner. Following the news, the German bank's shares fell, dropping by as much as 3.6% in Frankfurt. By 1:56 p.m., shares were trading down 3.4%. These raids are a setback for Deutsche Bank's CEO, Christian Sewing, who is widely credited with saving the bank and ending a long period of scandals and losses after taking office about eight years ago.
