The subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, DWS, said that its chief executive is resigning following a raid at its offices by the authorities into alleged greenwashing.
DWS CEO Asoka Woehrmann is set to step down over claims that the company exaggerated the sustainability credentials of some of its financial products. It is one of the leading asset managers in the world.
DWS has denied any wrongdoing. Woehrmann said in a statement that after three of the most successful years in its history, DWS is significantly more profitable, and remains stable. He also said the company has continued to perform well in a difficult market.
He said that the allegations made against herself and DWS over the past months have become a “burden for the company,” as well as for his personal life, and is therefore stepping down in order to protect the institution and his family.
Around 50 investigators raided the offices of DWS and Deutsche Bank as part of their probe. The raids were triggered by a former executive, Desiree Fixler. Fixler claimed that DWS engaged in “greenwashing,” saying that the company exaggerated the environmental and climate credentials of certain funds that it sold.
The company made misleading statements in its 2020 annual report, Fixler said, surrounding claims that more than half of the group’s $900 billion assets were invested using environmental, social, and governance criteria.
The search this week involved public prosecutors from Frankfurt, federal police, and officials from BaFin, which is the German financial regulator.
Initial investigations show that there were sufficient indications that environmental, social, and governance criteria were not considered in a majority of the funds, according to prosecutors.
Greenwashing is coming much more into the public focus lately, with calls for countries, as well as companies, to make real and lasting changes to address global warming and climate change.
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