US sues Deutsche Bank for fraud

New York

THE US government has sued Deutsche Bank for creating shell companies that allowed it to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes. The suit filed by the US attorney in New York on Monday asks for US$190 million in back taxes and penalties for an operation it alleged was made expressly to avoid taxes on a US$100 million gain in the sale of stock.

But the bank said that the issue had been settled five years ago with the US tax authority and that it does not understand why the government is pursuing it again.