Deutsche Bank’s asset manager fined €25mn over greenwashing scandal

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Deutsche Bank’s asset manager DWS has been fined €25mn by German prosecutors over a greenwashing scandal following long-running investigations by authorities in the US and Germany.

DWS, which is 80 per cent owned by the German lender, misled investors about its green credentials between 2020 and 2023, Frankfurt prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The asset manager used “aggressive” advertising that presented it as a leader in sustainable investments, despite “still undergoing a transformation process”, Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement.

The investigation was launched after a whistleblower complaint from Desiree Fixler, DWS’s former head of environmental, social and governance. Fixler alleged that DWS made misleading statements in its 2020 annual report about the size of its ESG assets.

In 2023, DWS agreed to pay $19mn to settle charges brought by the US securities regulator, which at that time was the watchdog’s highest-ever penalty related to ESG criteria against an investment adviser.

DWS said it had already publicly acknowledged that in the past, “our marketing was sometimes exuberant” and that it had improved its internal documentation and control processes. 

The asset manager said the fine would not affect its quarterly results because it had already made provisions.