By Edward Taylor
FRANKFURT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - 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.
A letter the prosecutors sent to one of the parties involved and seen by Reuters says a detective hired by the bank was under investigation along with other unidentified parties.
Contacted by Reuters, the detective declined comment.
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.
Deutsche Bank spokesman Ronald Weichert 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'.
SURVEILLANCE
Deutsche Bank said in July members of the supervisory board and management board had not authorised the spying activities.
The bank has 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.
Kirch has for years waged a legal campaign against Deutsche Bank, saying it caused the collapse of his empire by publicly calling his creditworthiness into question.
Detectives hired by Deutsche Bank launched an operation to scout out Bohndorf's Ibiza villa in an attempt to find out more about his personal, financial and professional life.
In another incident, the detective bureau stands accused of having attempted to plant a female intern in the offices of Leo Kirch's lawyers. The intern went for interviews at the lawyers' office in Munich, Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement.
Attempts to infiltrate the lawyers' office were abandoned after Deutsche Bank staff members got wind of the move in a phone call with detectives in August 2006, the Frankfurt prosecutors said.
People convicted in Germany of inciting others to betray business secrets face up to two years in jail or a fine.
(Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner and Philipp Halstrick, Editing by Lin Noueihed and Sitaraman Shankar) Keywords: DEUTSCHEBANK/SPY (Edward.Taylor@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1187; Reuters Messaging: edward.taylor.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
FRANKFURT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - 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.
A letter the prosecutors sent to one of the parties involved and seen by Reuters says a detective hired by the bank was under investigation along with other unidentified parties.
Contacted by Reuters, the detective declined comment.
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.
Deutsche Bank spokesman Ronald Weichert 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'.
SURVEILLANCE
Deutsche Bank said in July members of the supervisory board and management board had not authorised the spying activities.
The bank has 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.
Kirch has for years waged a legal campaign against Deutsche Bank, saying it caused the collapse of his empire by publicly calling his creditworthiness into question.
Detectives hired by Deutsche Bank launched an operation to scout out Bohndorf's Ibiza villa in an attempt to find out more about his personal, financial and professional life.
In another incident, the detective bureau stands accused of having attempted to plant a female intern in the offices of Leo Kirch's lawyers. The intern went for interviews at the lawyers' office in Munich, Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement.
Attempts to infiltrate the lawyers' office were abandoned after Deutsche Bank staff members got wind of the move in a phone call with detectives in August 2006, the Frankfurt prosecutors said.
People convicted in Germany of inciting others to betray business secrets face up to two years in jail or a fine.
(Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner and Philipp Halstrick, Editing by Lin Noueihed and Sitaraman Shankar) Keywords: DEUTSCHEBANK/SPY (Edward.Taylor@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1187; Reuters Messaging: edward.taylor.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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