Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay USD 120 million to resolve bribery charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
According to Accountancy Daily, the SEC alleged that Deutsche Bank engaged foreign officials, their relatives, and their associates as third-party intermediaries, business development consultants, and finders to obtain and retain global business.
The German lender lacked sufficient internal accounting controls related to the use and payment of such intermediaries, resulting in approximately USD 7 million in payments for unknown, undocumented, or unauthorised services, the regulator said.
Furthermore, these payments were inaccurately recorded as legitimate business expenses and involved invoices and documentation falsified by Deutsche Bank employees, the SEC claimed.
In a statement, Deutsche Bank said: ‘While we cannot comment on the specifics of the resolutions, we take responsibility for these past actions, which took place between 2008 and 2017.
Moreover, ‘as a broader matter, in the years since these issues occurred’ the bank claims it has invested more than EUR 1 billion in data, technology, and controls. ‘We have increased our anti-financial crime team to more than 1,600 people globally, and we’ll continue to invest significantly in technology this year and in the future, particularly as it relates to anti-financial crime compliance.’
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