Several members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle may have benefited from transactions at a German bank in Moscow that are part of a money laundering probe by U.S. authorities, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. Department of Justice is scrutinizing trades worth more than $6 billion at Deutsche Bank's Russian unit that may have been used to funnel money out of the country, according to Bloomberg.
Sources told Bloomberg that the accounts under investigation had in several cases held assets belonging to a relative of Putin and two of his longtime friends, billionaire businessmen brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.
The report said there was no indication that the Rotenbergs or other individuals allegedly linked to the accounts were under investigation themselves.
A representative of the Rotenbergs denied any involvement in such transactions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Deutsche Bank suspended a number of traders in Moscow after news of the money laundering accusations surfaced in May. The bank is conducting a review of the transactions and cooperating with U.S. and European regulators.
The bank announced earlier this year it would downsize its business in Russia.
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