German police paid second visit to DWS over suspected greenwashing - HB

BERLIN (Reuters) - The Deutsche Bank-owned asset manager DWS said on Tuesday that it had provided prosecutors with further information during a visit to its offices in an ongoing case involving allegations of greenwashing.

It said it was cooperating "openly and transparently".

Handelsblatt reported that the visit happened on Jan. 16 with some 50 investigators.

Since 2021, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have investigated accusations sparked by a whistleblower that DWS may have misled investors by marketing its funds as greener than they actually were.

U.S. regulators said in September DWS was due to pay $25 million to settle charges over misstatements regarding its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing and failures in policies designed to prevent money laundering.

Investigations in Germany are still ongoing.

Frankfurt prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Madeline Chambers, Victoria Waldersee)