Germany

German industrial inspector TÜV Süd was on Tuesday accused of evading its responsibilities over its alleged role in the 2019 deadly collapse of a dam in Brazil, as Brazilian claimants kicked off the first civil lawsuit in Germany over the disaster, Reuters reported. The municipality of Brumadinho and the family of an engineer killed in the accident allege the company negligently certified the Brumadinho dam in southeastern Brazil, although it did not meet international safety standards.

Berlin’s tenants are trying to evict large landlords. On Sept. 26, voters in Germany’s capital will decide whether to expropriate any landlord that owns more than 3,000 properties in the city, the Wall Street Journal reported. A clause in the German constitution allows for the move, but it hasn’t been tested before. It would affect real-estate investment trusts including Deutsche Wohnen DWNI 0.04% —which owns 116,000 properties in Berlin and is currently the target of an €18 billion takeover bid, equivalent to roughly $21 billion at current exchange rates—and its suitor Vonovia.

German prosecutors raided the finance and justice ministries on Thursday as part of an investigation into the government’s anti-money laundering agency, putting a spotlight on Germany's failings in tackling financial crime, Reuters reported. The probe into the Financial Intelligence Unit, an agency of the finance ministry under Social Democrat chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz, is looking at whether it was told to ignore warnings of suspect payments to Africa.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into German insurer Allianz is looking at possible misconduct by fund managers and misrepresentation of risk to investors, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The probe, disclosed by the company on Aug. 1, is focused on Allianz funds that used complex options strategies to generate returns but racked up massive losses when the spread of COVID-19 triggered wild stock market swings in February and March 2020.

German industrial production increased in July after three consecutive months of declines that have reflected supply chain problems, official data showed on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. Overall production increased by 1% compared with the previous month, the Economy Ministry said. In June, it had dropped 1%. There were bigger increases in the production of cars and car parts, which was up 1.9%, and machinery, which rose 6.9%.

German asset management company Deka Investment has taken action, and eyes further steps, to claim damages from the insolvent payment processing company Wirecard, a spokesperson for the company told IPE. Deka Investment has already notified possible claims for its invested capital in the context of the insolvency proceeding relating to Wirecard’s assets, the spokesperson added. Asked whether Deka was planning further legal action, the spokesperson said the asset management firm was in “close contact with a law firm” on possible action against other parties in the interests of its investors.

German regulators have launched an investigation into the country's biggest financial company, Allianz, after the demise of some of its U.S. investment funds last year, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The move heightens the pressure on the insurer, which is already facing a slew of investor lawsuits over its Structured Alpha Funds and related investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A labor union representing German train drivers said Monday that its members will launch a third strike this week in an escalating pay dispute with the country’s biggest rail company, the Associated Press reported. The GDL union said freight train drivers will walk out on Wednesday evening, followed by passenger train drivers early Thursday. The strike is due to last until 2 a.m. on Sept. 7, making it the longest in the current round of labor negotiations.

Many train drivers with Germany’s national railway walked off the job on Monday as their union embarked on its second two-day strike this month in a bitter dispute with the company, the Associated Press reported. The GDL union called on passenger train drivers to strike from 2 a.m. Monday to 2 a.m. Wednesday. Freight train drivers already started their strike on Saturday afternoon. Railway operator Deutsche Bahn planned to run about one-quarter of long-distance trains, while about 40% of regional and local services were expected to go ahead.