Deutsche's link to Danske case bigger than previously reported

Deutsche Bank.
Deutsche Bank. Source: Imago/Scanpix

Deutsche Bank processed €31 billion more in questionable funds for Danske Bank than previously thought, bringing the sum total of such funds believed to have moved through the German bank to some €160 billion, Reuters reported.

This additional sum is in addition to approximately €130 billion Deutsche cleared for Danske's Estonian branch from 2007-2015, indicating that it handled four-fifths of flows from the Danish bank's clients in Russia and the former Soviet Union, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the case.

An internal audit at Danske has established that non-resident clients of their Estonian branch moved up to €200 billion in money of possibly suspicious origin between 2007 and 2014. The fresh revelation, however, signals that Deutsche may have cleared up to 80% of the potentially suspicious amount.

"We have continuously intensified our efforts in recent years against money laundering and tax evasion," Deutsche CFO James von Moltke said in a statement.

The bank is also under investigation in a separate German case linked to the so-called Panama Papers, a trove of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that was leaked to the media in April 2016.

Speaking on CNBC, von Moltke said that the share price was a concern, but reiterated that Deutsche would hit its targets and return to profit this year. Asked whether clients were withdrawing money from the bank, he responded that customers' reactions were very limited.

Deutsche shares have decreased in value by more than half this year, currently valuing the bank at €16.7 billion.

Five-year credit default swaps, ie the cst of insurance on its debts, rose 16% on Thursday to 221.5 basis points, currently pricing in a 17.3% probability of default, according to data from Reuters' financial markets data and infrastructure provider Refinitiv.

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Editor: Aili Vahtla

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