Deutsche Bank exec emails don’t warrant separate probe in VAT fraud case, Reuters reports

Published 12:36 on May 20, 2015  /  Last updated at 17:33 on May 20, 2015  /  Bavardage, EMEA, EU ETS

German prosecutors will not open a new investigation into the confidential emails of senior executives at Deutsche Bank as part of an existing, ongoing probe into the bank’s role in carbon trading VAT fraud, Reuters reported, quoting a Deutsche Bank spokesman.

German prosecutors will not open a new investigation into the confidential emails of senior executives at Deutsche Bank as part of an existing, ongoing probe into the bank’s role in carbon trading VAT fraud, Reuters reported, quoting a Deutsche Bank spokesman.

The spokesman told Reuters that after examining the emails, Frankfurt prosecutors concluded that they did not warrant further investigation.

Reuters reported separately on Tuesday that Deutsche Bank will tell its shareholders at their annual meeting on Thursday that it took quick action to address any concerns raised in 2009 that the bank was being used by its clients to commit VAT fraud, also known as missing trader or carousel fraud.

German magazine Focus, citing a Mar. 27 report by tax investigators, last month reported the bank continued to deal with questionable clients following the emergence of evidence of money laundering in Nov. 2009, and after internal warnings flagged signs that tax fraud was taking place in the EU carbon market.

Focus, citing the tax investigators, cited one Deutsche Bank employee as saying the staff continued with the business because they were “so greedy” and wanted to make “filthy” amounts of money in the form of higher bonuses.

A total 26 employees or former employees of the bank, including co-Chief Executive Juergen Fitschen and finance chief Krause, are under investigation by the Frankfurt prosecutors office: 17 on suspicion of tax evasion, five on suspicion of money laundering, and four for attempted obstruction of justice.

Dozens of people have been jailed across the EU since 2010 for their part in the tax fraud, which authorities estimate has cost the bloc’s governments more than €5 billion in lost revenue.

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