Lawmakers Seek Deutsche Bank Details on Russia Trades, Trump Loans -- Update
U.S. Democratic lawmakers have asked Deutsche Bank AG to provide details about its internal reviews into Russian trades and clients, as well as loans made to President Donald Trump, according to a letter made public on Wednesday.
Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, and four other Democrats in a letter dated Tuesday asked Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan to disclose materials related to any internal reviews into Mr. Trump's accounts and any connections between those accounts and Russia.
The lawmakers asked for details of any Deutsche Bank reviews of whether loans to Mr. Trump "were backed by guarantees from the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia."
The lawmakers also asked for due-diligence documentation and details of assets and guarantees backing the loans to Mr. Trump.
Deutsche Bank, which has previously faced similar requests for information, declined to comment through a spokesman.
More broadly, U.S. investigators, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and congressional committees, are looking into any ties between Russian financial institutions, Mr. Trump and anyone in his orbit. Russia has denied interfering in the 2016 election. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia and has said he hopes the probe -- which he has dubbed a "witch hunt" -- will soon end.
Deutsche Bank has faced months of scrutiny over controls around its Russia operations, including roughly $10 billion in equity trades that are a matter of a continuing U.S. Justice Department investigation, and for its ties to Mr. Trump.
The bank lent more than $300 million to Mr. Trump-affiliated entities, disclosures show.
Democratic lawmakers in March called for a hearing to examine Deutsche Bank's ties to Mr. Trump, in part to explore any potential conflicts of interest in government investigations. The Democratic lawmakers alone have lacked Republican support to demand documents. No hearing has been scheduled.
The letter sent Tuesday asks for a response and documentation by June 2.
In a separate letter sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Ms. Waters requested that the department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network provide any records detailing the president's financial ties to Russia. The letter singles out Mr. Trump's business dealings with Deutsche Bank.
The Treasury Department hasn't yet responded to the letter.
Write to Jenny Strasburg at jenny.strasburg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 24, 2017 15:52 ET (19:52 GMT)