Asoka Woehrmann, the CEO of DWS, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, has stepped down following a police raid on the company’s offices. This action was prompted by allegations that DWS overstated the sustainability of some of its financial offerings.
The investigation was initiated after a former manager at DWS claimed that the firm engaged in ‘greenwashing,’ misleading clients about the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attributes of its investment products. A spokesperson for the public prosecutor stated, “The allegations suggest that DWS promoted certain ESG financial products as being genuinely sustainable, while evidence uncovered during our inquiry points to potential prospectus fraud.”
Desiree Fixler, the former head of sustainability at DWS, was ousted last year after raising concerns regarding misleading statements in the company’s 2020 annual report, which claimed that over half of DWS’s $900 billion assets under management complied with ESG criteria.
Stefan Hoops, who previously oversaw the corporate bank, will take the helm at DWS following Woehrmann’s departure. This investigation by German authorities comes shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposed a $1.5 million fine on BNY Mellon for inaccuracies related to ESG factors in its mutual fund management.