German prosecutors’ latest raid on Deutsche Bank offices has once again placed Germany’s largest lender under an uncomfortable spotlight, reviving long-running questions about the bank’s controls, its handling of high-risk clients, and its compliance culture after years of costly scandals.

On January 29, German authorities confirmed that prosecutors had searched Deutsche Bank offices in Frankfurt and Berlin as part of a criminal investigation into suspected money laundering and related offenses. The searches were ordered by the Main Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Crime in Frankfurt am Main and carried out the previous day.

Dominik Mies, a prosecutor and spokesperson for the Frankfurt office, said the investigation targets “unknown responsible parties and employees of Deutsche Bank AG” on suspicion of violating the Money Laundering Act. According to prosecutors, the probe centers on past business relationships between Deutsche Bank and foreign companies that have themselves come under suspicion in other investigations for allegedly being used to launder money.

While raids on major financial institutions are relatively rare in Germany, they are not unprecedented-particularly in cases where prosecutors suspect failures to report suspicious transactions or weaknesses in internal compliance systems. Still, the sight of investigators entering the headquarters of the country’s most powerful bank underscores the seriousness with which authorities are treating the case.

Deutsche Bank confirmed that the investigation relates to historical transactions dating back to the period between 2013 and 2018. In an emailed statement, the bank said the probe is “based on an allegedly late filing of a suspicious activity report,” known as an SAR. German prosecutors are now assessing whether the delay itself could amount to a violation of anti-money laundering (AML) rules and whether any potential laundering occurred as a result.

Under German and........

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