For nearly seven years it seemed like a good way to drum up business for Deutsche Bank: pay millions of dollars to consultants in countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and China. And on Friday, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay more than $125 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations into those and other practices. The investigation by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission found that Deutsche Bank had made about $7 million in improper payments to foreign fixers between 2009 and 2016, earning about $35 million from the deals that resulted. The bank avoided having to plead guilty in the criminal component of the investigation by entering into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department at a hearing in Brooklyn federal court. The fine also resolved the civil component of the investigation by the S.E.C.

Source: International New York Times January 08, 2021 16:39 UTC