Bafin has yet to complete its investigation into Varengold, and so far no individuals from the bank have been accused of any wrongdoing. A spokeswoman for Bafin declined to say when the probe would be concluded or if the authority has referred the case to Germany’s prosecutors.
The Iran business is not the first time Varengold has caught the eye of German authorities, however.
German prosecutors have accused the bank’s founder and former CEO, Yasin Sebastian Qureshi, of involvement in the so-called Cum Ex affair, a far-reaching scam by international banks, traders and hedge funds to defraud European governments of billions by claiming refunds for taxes they never paid.
Prosecuters allege Qureshi, who denies any wrongdoing, was involved in a series of Cum Ex transactions that defrauded the German government of €93 million. Qureshi stepped down as CEO in 2015, but the charges against him date back to his tenure running the bank. His trial began in a Bonn court in Germany earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Germany’s accounting supervisor, known as APAS, is reportedly investigating whether PwC, Varengold’s independent auditor, made any errors in its evaluation of the bank’s books. The firm’s accountants, who began auditing Varengold in 2016, raised no red flags about its international payments business other operations.
“We were satisfied that the systems and processes implemented, as well as the established controls, are appropriate overall and that the estimates and assumptions made by the executive directors for the proper recording and accrual of commission income are adequately documented and justified,” PwC wrote in its 2021 evaluation.
