Deutsche Bank AG, a German financial services corporation, operated in more than 70 countries worldwide, and the company's securities were registered with the SEC and traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to the documents in this case, between 2009 and 2016, Deutsche Bank improperly used third-party intermediaries, business development consultants, and finders (collectively “BDCs”) to obtain and retain global business. The BDCs included foreign officials, their relatives, and associates, and their use was approved by members of Deutsche Bank’s senior management and various regional committees despite the bribery risks inherent to such engagements. These BDCs were specifically used to obtain or retain business in China, Italy, Abu Dhabi, and with an unnamed senior member of a Middle Eastern royal family. In all, approximately $7 million in payments to BDCs were improperly booked as legitimate expenses, and Deutsche Bank was unjustly enriched by approximately $35 million.
In a settled administrative proceeding initiated on January 8, 2021, the SEC ordered Deutsche Bank to cease and desist violations of the books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA, and under the terms of the settlement, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay disgorgement of $35,145,619 and prejudgment interest of $8,184,003, for a total payment of $43,329,622. The SEC noted the company's cooperation and remediation and said it was not imposing a civil fine in light of the criminal fine imposed in the parallel DOJ action. The SEC previously issued a cease and desist order against Deutsche Bank in 2019 for unrelated FCPA-related misconduct in China and Russia.
In a related proceeding, on December 22, 2020, the DOJ filed a two-count Information in the Eastern District of New York against Deutsche Bank alleging conspiracy to violate the books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The wire fraud allegations were specific to a commodities fraud charge based on an unrelated set of facts to the FCPA charge. On January 7, 2021, Deutsche Bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ. Under the terms of the agreement, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $79,561,206 and to self-report on the status of the company's anti-corruption compliance for a term of three years. Deutsche Bank also agreed to pay approximately $7.5 million to resolve the commodities fraud charge.
