UPDATED, Jan. 22, 10:24 a.m.: A prominent German business magazine is reporting that Deutsche Bank identified “suspicious transactions” related to Kushner Companies and reported them to banking regulators in Germany. According to the translation of the Manager Magazin report in Mother Jones, Deutsche Bank is willing to hand over that information to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose team is reportedly investigating the finances and business dealings of Jared Kushner, former CEO of the firm.
“Achleitner’s internal detectives were embarrassed to deliver their interim report regarding real estate tycoon [Jared] Kushner to the financial regulator BaFin,” the Manager Magazin article states, according to Mother Jones’ translation. “Their finding: There are indications that Donald Trump’s son-in-law or persons or companies close to him could have channeled suspicious monies through Deutsche Bank as part of their business dealings.”
Duetsche Bank put out a statement denying the report’s claims and said the bank was taking legal action. A spokesperson for Kushner Companies sent a statement to The Real Deal saying the firm has done nothing wrong “with its relationship with Deutsche Bank.”
“The Office of Special Counsel has not contacted us. There is no money laundering. There is no Russian connection. There are no improper loans. There are no misrepresentations. Everything has been handled in a normal, professional and commercial manner,” the statement read. “Our transactions with Deutsche Bank were bid out on a competitive market rate basis. Any story claiming that we have done anything wrong in our dealings with Deutsche Bank is made-up and completely baseless. Importantly, not one news agency even called us before running these crazy allegations.”
In December, the New York Times reported that the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn subpoenaed Deutsche Bank records concerning entities tied to the development firm.
The bank is a lender on Kushner Companies’ retail condominium at the old New York Times Building. When the company landed the $285 million loan from the bank in 2016 to refinance the property, underwriters estimated that the retail space would generate $24 million annually when fully occupied, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Operating costs and interest payments amount to about $22 million annually, according to the publication. — E.K. Hudson