Allianz Must Face Investor Claims over Funds' Collapse, U.S. Judge Rules

A U.S. judge said Germany's Allianz SE must face investor claims it wrongly "abandoned" the investment strategies it promised to use on hedge funds that suffered massive losses as the COVID-19 pandemic shook markets early last year, Reuters reported. In an 81-page decision, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan said that investors could try to show Allianz was negligent and lacked good faith in managing its Structured Alpha funds. She also dismissed some state law-based claims.
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German Watchdog BaFin Orders N26 to Pay $5 Million Fine

German financial regulator BaFin ordered online bank N26 to pay 4.25 million euros ($4.98 million) for delayed reports of suspicious activity in 2019 and 2020 in the area of anti-money laundering, Reuters reported. N26 said that the fine was paid in full on July 14, adding all related proceedings have been closed. The bank said the case related to fewer than 50 activity reports, adding that BaFin would make the fine public shortly.

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Germany's TÜV Süd "Shirking Responsibility" over 2019 Brazil Dam Burst, Court Hears

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.
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Commentary: Angela Merkel Was Bad for Europe and the World

Angela Merkel’s tenure will be remembered as Germany’s, and Europe’s, cruelest paradox: On the one hand, she dominated the continent’s politics like no other peacetime leader — and is leaving the German chancellery considerably more powerful than she had found it. But the way she built up this power condemned Germany to secular decline and the European Union to stagnation, according to a commentary in Jacobin. There is no doubt that Germany is today stronger politically and economically than it was when Merkel became chancellor back in 2005.

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Berlin’s Renters Want to Show Landlords the Door

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.
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German Prosecutors Raid Ministries in Money Laundering Probe

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.
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U.S. DOJ Looking into Conduct of Allianz Fund Managers

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.
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German Industrial Production Picks Up After Several Declines

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%.
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Deka Investment Files Damages Claim Against Wirecard

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.
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