Morgan's Germany chief takes leave amid scandal

[June 26, 2012]  BERLIN (AP) -- The head of U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley's German branch is taking leave for an indefinite period of time amid questions over a deal that caused a political scandal.

Morgan Stanley Bank AG said Monday that Dirk Notheis notified the supervisory board of his decision. The company gave no reasons for the decision.

Notheis in 2010 helped his longtime friend Steffen Mappus, then governor of the German state Baden-Wuerttemberg, buy a 45 percent stake in the local power company EnBW on behalf of the state. The state bought it from France's government-owned utility EdF for (EURO)4.7 billion ($6 billion).

The deal -- organized by Morgan Stanley and Mappus without consulting lawmakers -- was later found to be unconstitutional by a state court, with a parliamentary inquiry still under way.

[Associated Press]

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