Deutsche Bank Mediation Concludes Without Agreement
Deutsche Bank AG and five former employees have ended mediation efforts regarding allegations that the bank’s actions negatively impacted their careers in a criminal case, but no resolution was achieved.
With mediation unsuccessful, the former employees are now expected to pursue lawsuits in London. Sources close to the matter, who requested anonymity, indicated the lawsuits would remain private.
Michele Faisola, one of the ex-employees, contends that the bank adversely affected their careers amid an Italian criminal case involving Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Spa. Dario Silardi, a former senior executive in Deutsche Bank’s asset and wealth management, has already filed a lawsuit in Frankfurt, seeking about 152 million euros ($178 million). A hearing for this case is on the calendar for December.
The core of the allegations centers around an audit report commissioned by Deutsche Bank back in 2013, when current CEO Christian Sewing was overseeing the review. Deutsche Bank opted not to comment on the situation.
One of the former employees claimed that the audit was biased and the liability assignment was unjust. They alleged that relevant market prices were manipulated, leading to erroneous beliefs about the situation.
Previously, Deutsche Bank has defended the audit as fair and denied all allegations made against it.
The original criminal case involved accusations that the management at Monte Paschi colluded with Deutsche Bank employees to conceal the financial losses of Italian banks through complex derivative transactions, resulting in a misrepresentation of the company’s financial status between 2008 and 2012.
Initially convicted in 2019, six Deutsche Bank employees were fully acquitted by the Milan Court of Appeals in 2022, which ruled that there were no grounds for the trial. In October 2023, the Italian Supreme Court upheld this acquittal.
In its annual report, Deutsche Bank disclosed that five former employees connected to the Monte Paschi case have threatened legal action in UK courts, while one has already initiated a lawsuit in Frankfurt. The bank chose not to name the individuals involved.
Deutsche Bank asserted that it views the claims as entirely without merit and is committed to robustly defending itself against what it describes as exaggerated and unrealistic accusations.
