DWS chief resigns after police raid over greenwashing claims

The chief executive of Germany’s top asset management firm DWS Group has resigned hours after the company’s offices in Frankfurt were raided by police over allegations of greenwashing.

DWS said in a statement on Wednesday morning that Asoka Wöhrmann, chief executive since late 2018, would step down as of June 10, the day after the group’s annual shareholders’ meeting.

He will be replaced by Stefan Hoops, previously head of the corporate bank at Deutsche Bank, DWS’s majority owner. Hoops will also become the company’s managing director, according to the DWS statement.

The executive reshuffle came shortly after about 50 German police raided the offices of DWS and Deutsche Bank in downtown Frankfurt mid-morning on Tuesday. The officers held meetings with staff until lunchtime, according to people with knowledge of the operation.

Neither company was given advance notice of the raid, which involved public prosecutors from Frankfurt, federal police and officials from the German financial regulator, BaFin.

BaFin launched an investigation into DWS following a similar probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which was prompted by allegations from former DWS executive Desiree Fixler.

Fixler said the company had made misleading statements in its 2020 annual report over claims that more than half the group’s $900bn assets were invested using environmental, social and governance criteria.

Wöhrmann’s replacement also follows criticism over his use of a personal email address for business purposes when he worked at Deutsche Bank’s retail banking business.

DWS did not provide details about the reason for the change in chief executive. A DWS spokesperson declined to comment.

Deutsche Bank added that David Lynne, head of its corporate bank in Asia-Pacific, would assume Hoops’ previous role.

Karl von Rohr, chair of DWS, said that Wöhrmann had played a “major role” in the bank’s asset management operation in recent years. “Under his leadership, DWS has expanded its market position and performed well in a recently challenging environment,” he said.

“With Stefan Hoops, we are able to appoint a proven capital markets specialist to lead DWS, who brings the necessary strategic foresight, expertise in digitalisation and leadership skills for this role.”