DB - BNP Paribas fee to middleman in Deutsche Bank deal gets scrutinized - Bloomberg

BNP Paribas's ([[BNPQF]] -3.2%) 2019 acquisition of Deutsche Bank's ([[DB]] -0.3%) business serving hedge funds is being probed by French regulators over a fee paid to a middleman.The French bank paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to former Goldman Sachs banker Simon Lloyd months after the transaction was completed in September 2019, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.Lloyd, who didn't respond to Bloomberg's calls or messages over LinkedIn, hasn't been accused of wrongdoing.France's anti-corruption agency, known as AFA, flagged the incident during a routine audit and is expected to issue a report in the next few weeks.The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority also received complaints about the payment, but it's not clear if that agency will start a formal inquiry, the people said.After Deutsche Bank decided to shed its prime brokerage unit, Citigroup and BNP Paribas emerged as potential buyers.Early in the process, Lloyd contacted a BNP Paribas executive

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BNP Paribas fee to middleman in Deutsche Bank deal gets scrutinized - Bloomberg