WestLB Investigation to Engulf More Execs

The criminal investigation into German bank WestLB’s involvement in the losses incurred at British TV rental company Boxclever is set to engulf more bank executives, according to German media reports. The bank’s current chief executive, Johannes Ringel, is one of the names mentioned in the widening affair. Ringel took over from Jurgen Sengera as CEO after the latter was forced out by the regulatory probe conducted by BaFin, the federal institution for finance service supervision. WestLB is being investigated after losses arose at Boxclever from a €1.7 billion ($2.02 billion, £748 million) securitization financed by the bank's London unit. The crisis will come to a head in January when the public prosecutor in Düsseldorf will decide whether to go for indictments. By then, Boxclever may well have been sold or be on the market as insiders say the German bank wants to get rid of it.