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Deutsche Bank Managers Leave Amid Spy Probe: Source | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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FRANKFURT (AFP) – Two managers at the biggest German bank, Deutsche Bank, have left amid a probe into alleged spying, a financial source told AFP on Tuesday.

The head of security for the bank and its head of investor relations “have left the company,” the source said.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment when contacted by AFP, saying that it was waiting for the results of an internal probe launched in May by an independent company.

A spokesman did confirm however that prosecutors in Frankfurt, where the bank is based, were studying information provided by the public authority charged with the protection of personal data, based in nearby Darmstadt.

That group has requested more information from Deutsche Bank on two cases and said it has passed some along to judicial officials.

According to the business daily Handelsblatt, those cases concern alleged spying on supervisory board member Hermann-Josef Lamberti and outspoken shareholder Michael Bohndorf.

Prosecutors can take two to three weeks before deciding whether to launch a formal investigation that could then lead to legal proceedings.

For the time being, Deutsche Bank has only acknowledged one case of spying on a union leader who was a former member of its supervisory board.

Germany has been hit by several cases of corporate spying, at the telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom, the national railway Deutsche Bahn and the discount retail chain Lidl.