Top Deutsche Bank executives cleared

Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into corporate spying at Deutsche Bank but exonerated top officials in the case that has tarnished the reputation of Germany's flagship lender. Deutsche Bank said in July that a detective agency it hired had spied on people the bank deemed a threat. Among those spied on were a journalist, a shareholder and a member of the public.
Frankfurt prosecutors said on Thursday they had found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Deutsche Bank management and supervisory board members but were still investigating possible breaches of data security. Prosecutors had launched an investigation "against those presumed to be responsible", the prosecutor's office said in a statement. It gave no more details while the inquiry continues.
The preliminary investigation was launched in the wake of accusations of spying made by a shareholder and a Munich-based lawyer's office, Frankfurt prosecutors said. Parallel investigations by German financial regulator Bafin and the data protection authorities of Deutsche Bank's home state of Hesse are also ongoing.
A Deutsche Bank spokesman said prosecutors had "confirmed our assessment that there is no cause to believe members of the supervisory and management board at Deutsche Bank were involved". Deutsche Bank said in July members of the supervisory board and management board had not authorised the spying activities.
The bank said it dismissed its head of corporate security for Germany Rafael Schenz, and the global head of investor relations Wolfram Schmitt, for their involvement in the case. Schenz and Schmitt are both suing the bank, contesting their dismissal. Neither could be reached for comment.
The surveillance, which came to light in May, targeted a shareholder who had bombarded the bank with legal claims, an investigative journalist, a supervisory board member suspected of leaking information and a private citizen who sent threatening letters to board members. Deutsche Bank hired a private detective agency in 2006 after the supervisory board chairman, Clemens Boersig, asked to know if troublesome shareholder Michael Bohndorf could be linked to media magnate Leo Kirch.