Real Estate

Deutsche approved $72m property sale to Russian businessman — despite internal warnings

Sale of Silicon Valley plot in 2018 drew concerns about reputational risk

Deutsche approved $72m property sale to Russian businessman — despite internal warnings
Photo: Getty Images

Deutsche Bank officials approved the sale of a chunk of Silicon Valley real estate to a Russian businessman despite objections from its US reputational risk committee, according to documents and people familiar with the matter.

The lender’s Germany-based global reputational-risk committee approved the $72m deal, completed in May 2018, overruling concerns raised by executives including the one responsible for Deutsche’s US anti-money-laundering controls, the people said.

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