Suspicious minds

Deutsche Bank AG acknowledged for the first time that it is investigating a “significant” volume of suspicious Russian and U.K. equities trades, adding that it has already taken disciplinary action against a number of people.

The disclosure came as the Frankfurt-based lender reported 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in legal expenses during the second quarter, more than twice the 550 million euros five analysts had expected.

The bank “is investigating the circumstances around equity trades entered into by certain clients with Deutsche Bank in Moscow and London that offset one another,” it said in the statement of second-quarter results. “The total volume of the transactions under review is significant,” the bank said, adding that many were cleared in U.S. dollars.

Suspicious 

minds.