German bank raided over alleged insider trading of Hapag-Lloyd shares

Berenberg’s Hendrik Riehmer is now under investigation as police has searched his home, as well as the bank’s headquarters and the offices of a property company in Hamburg, reports cited a spokesperson for the Hamburg prosecutor’s office.

“The suspects are believed to have used insider information to gain profit in the sale of shares in a shipping company,” the spokesperson said.

Reports said that Berenberg has advised Tui, the tourism company, in 2017 when it sold its remaining shares in Hapag-Lloyd. The transaction is alleged to be an insider trading involving two more suspects who are acquaintances of Riehmer.

One of the suspects is alleged to have made EUR3m ($3.4m) from a share sale, while another is alleged to have made EUR193,000. About EUR20m of their assets have been frozen.