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The FBI wants to know if Deutsche Bank gave Trump a free pass on possible money laundering

Back in May, or 73 lifetimes ago in Trump years, the New York Times reported that anti-money-laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank had flagged “suspicious activity” on the accounts of both Donald Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in 2016 and 2017, advising that they be reported to a financial-crimes regulator—only to be told by management that their concerns were unfounded and to stop being so “negative.” And apparently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation thinks that merits a closer look:

Federal authorities are investigating whether Deutsche Bank complied with laws meant to stop money laundering and other crimes, the latest government examination of potential misconduct at one of the world’s largest and most troubled banks, according to seven people familiar with the inquiry.

The investigation includes a review of Deutsche Bank’s handling of so-called suspicious activity reports that its employees prepared about possibly problematic transactions, including some linked to President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, according to people close to the bank and others familiar with the matter. The criminal investigation into Deutsche Bank is one element of several separate but overlapping government examinations into how illicit funds flow through the American financial system, said five of the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the inquiries. Several other banks are also being investigated.

According to the Times, the FBI recently got in touch with Tammy McFadden, the Deutsche Bank whistle-blower who reviewed Kushner’s accounts after several of their transactions were flagged by the company’s software. Three other former Deutsche employees have said that just after Trump was elected president, multiple suspicious activity reports “involving different entities that Mr. Trump owned or controlled” were generated, yet bank executives chose not to follow the recommendation to file the reports with the Treasury Department. A year prior, a similar situation occurred concerning transactions by Kushner’s real estate company.