Deutsche Bank's investment division DWS reaches a settlement with German prosecutors over the "greenwashing" investigation.

The investment department of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (DB.US), DWS, has settled a long-running investigation by German prosecutors into allegations of "greenwashing". According to sources familiar with the matter, DWS has agreed to pay an amount slightly higher than the $19 million it paid to settle with US authorities on the issue. They said that the settlement agreement may be announced later on Wednesday. The investigation was launched after former Deutsche Bank Chief Sustainability Officer Desiree Fixler publicly stated in 2021 that the asset management company had exaggerated its ESG credentials. Frankfurt prosecutors raided DWS in 2022 and 2024. Subsequently, the company replaced then-CEO Asoka Woehrmann with Stefan Hoops and resolved related investigations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).