The Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office investigated DWS’s flagship €20bn Top Dividende fund and the DWS ESG Blue Economy fund as part of its greenwashing probe, while confirming it has dropped criminal proceedings against former chief executive officer Asoka Wöhrmann.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office told IPE that the two funds were examined during the course of the investigation, which led to DWS receiving a €25m fine earlier this year.
However, the spokesperson added that the penalty was “not specifically imposed and solely related” to the two funds.
DWS has repeatedly denied that the fine, paid in February and announced by prosecutors in April, related to specific products.
“The penalty concerned a standard that relates to the organisation, and not individual products,” a DWS spokesperson told IPE.
The asset manager was responding to reports by German broadcasters NDR and WDR, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, which claimed that specific funds were at the heart of the investigation.
In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said the findings of the investigation “cannot be reduced to the fact that the marketing [of the products] was simply overly exaggerated”, suggesting instead that there were broader structural issues within the firm.
The criminal case against Wöhrmann – launched in 2023 on suspicion of capital investment fraud following raids on Deutsche Bank and DWS offices – has now been dropped.
Prosecutors said they were unable to confirm suspicions of investment fraud or misleading marketing on the part of Wöhrmann. Reports cited the former CEO’s efforts to implement DWS’s sustainability strategy, despite internal opposition, as a key reason for closing the case.
In addition, the decision to drop the case was influenced by the fact that Wöhrmann had no prior criminal record, was dismissed from DWS following the allegations, and is no longer active in the capital markets sector.
Prosecutors concluded there was no public interest in pursuing the matter further.
Wöhrmann resigned from DWS after the 2023 raids, and was later appointed CEO of real estate investment manager Patrizia.
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Luigi is IPE's Berlin-based DACH correspondent.
His coverage includes regulation and the latest pensions and investments trends, and, being a native Italian, he also covers Italy’s pensions market.
He has reported from Italy and Germany on international politics and business for European and US publications including USA Today, Bloomberg BNA and for the investigative magazine L’Espresso. He was previously Germany correspondent for Mergermarket covering M&A.View full Profile
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