FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Four former employees are seeking damages of more than £600 million (approximately 700 million euros) from Deutsche Bank in connection with the case involving the Italian bank Monte dei Paschi. This was revealed in the Dax-listed group's annual report, published in Frankfurt. In their lawsuits, filed with English courts last autumn, the former employees accuse Deutsche Bank of damaging their careers.
The financial institution rejects the claims: "Deutsche Bank considers all such claims to be unfounded and will defend itself vigorously against them, including challenging the excessive and unrealistic alleged losses."
In addition to this sum, a fifth banker is claiming 152 million euros. This lawsuit has already been filed with the Frankfurt Regional Court and is scheduled for a hearing in September.
According to the information provided, Deutsche Bank has not yet disclosed whether it has made provisions for these cases. Such a disclosure would likely "significantly influence" the outcome of the proceedings, the annual report states.
The legal dispute stems from transactions Deutsche Bank entered into in 2008 with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) and an MPS subsidiary. In 2019, five former and one then-active Deutsche Bank employee were sentenced to several years in prison in Milan for aiding and abetting accounting fraud in conjunction with market manipulation. In an appeals process in 2022, all defendants were acquitted. These acquittals were confirmed by Italy's Supreme Court in 2023. However, the bankers argue that the Italian proceedings and the initial lower court ruling caused damage to their careers./als/DP/stw
