Investigators raided the headquarters of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt today (Wednesday) as part of an investigation into suspected fraudulent tax transactions carried out through the Postbank unit between 2008 and 2010.

Germany's largest bank confirmed that representatives from the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office conducted searches at its headquarters, noting that the investigations relate to historical transactions at Postbank, and that it is fully cooperating with the authorities.

Money laundering

According to an informed source, the investigations are linked to what is known as 'cum-ex' transactions, which involved trading shares of German companies around the time of dividend payouts.

The authorities believe that these practices, which spread during the global financial crisis, were used to obtain illegal tax benefits, costing the public treasury billions of euros, while authorities have been trying for years to recover the funds associated with them. This is the third raid targeting Deutsche Bank this year, following a previous investigation related to money laundering allegations, and another that targeted its retail banking arm last week.

Investigators raided the headquarters of "Deutsche Bank" in Frankfurt today (Wednesday) as part of an investigation into tax transactions suspected of being fraudulent, carried out through the "Postbank" unit between 2008 and 2010.

The largest bank in Germany confirmed that representatives from the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office conducted searches at its headquarters, noting that the investigations relate to historical transactions at "Postbank," and that it is fully cooperating with the authorities.

Money Laundering

According to an informed source, the investigations are linked to what is known as "cum-ex" transactions, which involved trading shares of German companies around the time of dividend payouts.

The authorities believe that these practices, which spread during the global financial crisis, were used to obtain illegal tax benefits, costing the public treasury billions of euros, while authorities have been trying for years to recover the funds associated with them. This is the third raid targeting "Deutsche Bank" this year, following a previous investigation related to money laundering allegations, and another that targeted its retail banking arm last week.