The chief executive of Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, DWS Group, announced his resignation in a memo to employees yesterday after the bank’s headquarters were raided over 'greenwashing' allegations.
Asoka Woehrmann stepped down from the role after police acted on allegations first raised by an internal whistleblower last August when Deutsche's Frankfurt offices were raided.
In the memo, he said that "allegations..., however unfounded or undefendable, have left a mark", and added: "To quote Charles Dickens: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Shares at DWS had fallen 7% by 11:00 am on Wednesday morning trades.
Woehrmann was appointed to the executive board at DWS in 2018 and was due to continue his appointment on the board until at least 2024.
He held the dual roles of CEO and chairman of the managing directors of DWS in Frankfurt, having previously headed Deutsche Bank's private client business in Germany.
He had a 17-year career at DWS before joining the client-facing part of Deutsche Bank’s business, serving as a one-time global chief investment officer at the asset manager.
Woehrmann was chairman of the supervisory boards of DWS Investment and DWS Grundbesitz.
Desiree Fixler, who previously headed up the asset management arm’s ESG products, blew the whistle last year on claims that the bank was offering ESG products that claimed to be greener than they actually were.
She filed a lawsuit against the company after she was removed from her position in March 2021, which she alleges was because she had raised concerns over the ESG claims made by the company.
The allegations represent the latest greenwashing scandal to hit a Germany-based company after automaker Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) paid out hundreds of millions in fines and compensation after an emissions-fixing scandal over software used in its EA189 diesel engine.