More executives of the former Bankers Trust Corp. may be fired in connection with the misappropriation of client funds in the bank's securities processing unit during the mid-1990s, according to a filing with the Labor Department.
Deutsche Bank AG, which just acquired Bankers Trust for $9 billion, told the Labor Department's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration in the filing that it would appoint a "special master" to review current Bankers Trust employees who conducted an internal investigation into the matter from 1996 to 1997.
Bankers Trust pleaded guilty to three felony counts in U.S. District Court in March and agreed to pay a $60 million fine.
Because of those guilty pleas, Deutsche Bank AG has to ask the Labor Department for an exemption so it can continue to manage certain large employee benefit plans.
The special master would have the power to discipline or fire additional Bankers Trust employees "to deter future misconduct," the filing said.
The special master is focusing on senior executives who managed the internal investigation but who were not directly involved.
Bankers Trust began investigating fund transfers in its Client Processing Services unit in 1996, with the help of accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Co. and legal counsel Sullivan & Cromwell.
The investigation revealed that $19.1 million of client funds were diverted into the bank's own income.
The bank said in the filing that 13 employees have resigned and another 27 were disciplined.
Deutsche Bank chairman Rolf E. Breuer told reporters last week that compliance is a chief concern as he integrates Bankers Trust's operations.
In the filing, the bank said that new compliance controls have been implemented and that about 2,000 Bankers Trust employees have gone through additional training.
