Deutsche Bank asks for more time for U.S.
query on Trump, Russia: source
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[June 05, 2017]
By Tom Sims
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's largest
bank has asked for more time to respond to a request from Democrats on a
U.S. House of Representatives panel for details about U.S. President
Donald Trump's possible ties to Russia, a person familiar with the
matter said on Monday.
Deutsche Bank's <DBKGn.DE> external counsel sent a letter dated Friday
June 2 to the Democrats saying it needed additional time, the source
told Reuters. The person spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to
specify how much more time the bank's counsel needed.
Several Democrats on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee sent a
letter last month to John Cryan, chief executive officer of Deutsche
Bank, seeking details that might show if Trump's loans for his real
estate business were backed by the Russian government.
The letter asked for details of internal reviews of Trump's transactions
and gave the German bank until Friday to respond.
Deutsche Bank has declined to comment about any business dealings with
Trump.
The Republican president is mired in controversy over FBI and
congressional probes into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S.
presidential election and potential collusion between Moscow and the
Trump campaign. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Trump has denied
any collusion.
Maxine Waters, Democrat representative for California and a member of
the committee, was one of the original letter's five signatories. She
confirmed through a staff member on Monday that Deutsche did not provide
"substantive responses to our requests".
"Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to
President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in
any way connected to Russia," the Democrats wrote in their request to
Deutsche Bank.
"It is critical that you provide this committee with the information
necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal
reviews," they said.
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A combination of file photos showing Russian President Vladimir
Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia,
January 15, 2016 and U.S. President Donald Trump posing for a photo
in New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016. REUTERS/Ivan
Sekretarev/Pool/Lucas Jackson/File Photos
The Democrats cannot compel Deutsche Bank to hand over the
information. The House committee has the power to subpoena the
documents, but Republican committee members - who make up the
majority of the panel - would have to cooperate.
No Republicans have signed the document request.
The congressional inquiry is also seeking information about a
Russian "mirror trading" scheme that allowed $10 billion to flow out
of Russia.
In January, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $630 million in fines for
organizing the scheme that could have been used to launder money out
of Russia.
The trades involved, for example, buying Russian stocks in roubles
for a client and selling the identical value of a security for U.S.
dollars for a related customer.
(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Mark Potter)
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