Deutsche Bank denies report it prevented Trump transactions being flagged

Reuters

Published May 20, 2019 01:46AM ET

Deutsche Bank denies report it prevented Trump transactions being flagged

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) denied a report that said some of its executives rejected the advice of the bank's own anti-money laundering specialists and prevented some transactions involving entities controlled by President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, being filed with the government.

"At no time was an investigator prevented from escalating activity identified as potentially suspicious. Furthermore, suggestion that anyone was reassigned or fired in an effort to quash concerns relating to any client is categorically false," Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Monday.

Citing five current and former Deutsche Bank employees, the New York Times reported on Sunday that the transactions, some of which involved Trump's now-defunct foundation, set off alerts in a computer system designed to detect illicit activity.

Compliance staff members who then reviewed the transactions prepared so-called suspicious activity reports that they believed should be sent to a unit of the Treasury Department that polices financial crimes, according to the newspaper.