According to a report by Reuters, German banking giant Deutsche Bank has partnered with Swiss cryptocurrency firm Taurus to offer Bitcoin and crypto custody and other related services to its institutional clients.

“As the digital asset space is expected to encompass trillions of dollars of assets, it’s bound to be seen as one of the priorities for investors and corporations alike,” said Deutsche Bank’s global head of securities services, Paul Maley. “Our focus is not just on cryptocurrencies, but supporting our clients in the overall digital assets ecosystem.”

The announcement also comes at a time when regulatory clarity around the industry is improving. Governments and financial regulators worldwide have been working to establish clear guidelines for the use and trading of digital assets.

According to the report, Deutsche Bank is proceeding “cautiously and in line with the spirit and the letter of the regulations governing this asset class.” Maley went on to further explain that “Our product design, and the nature of custody for clients, will make sure that there isn’t the risk of contaminating the bank’s other activities.”

Bitcoin continues to gain momentum and recognition as a legitimate asset class, with the asset becoming a very attractive investment option for hedge funds, family offices, and other institutional investors. Deutsche Bank’s decision to enter this market is seen as a strategic move to capture a share of this burgeoning market.

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An investment banker formerly employed by Deutsche Bank has been charged with perpetrating a crypto-related fraud. The man from Brooklyn has been accused of misappropriating funds from victims whom he promised large returns on cryptocurrency investments in a Ponzi-like scheme.

Ex-Deutsche Bank Investment Banker Arrested and Charged for Defrauding Crypto Investors

Rashawn Russell, a 27-year-old investment banker and registered broker from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on April 10 on criminal charges related to his alleged role in running a crypto investment fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.

Prosecutors claim that Russel defrauded multiple investors, luring them with promises of big and even guaranteed returns from cryptocurrency investment and trading. However, he used their money for his own benefit, to gamble and to repay other investors in order to keep the scheme going.

The indictment alleges that the accused repeatedly failed to provide investors with the promised rates of return. And when some of them requested to be repaid their investments, he falsely represented that he had wired them the money.

While the document only mentions he worked as an investment banker between July 2018 and November 2021, Reuters reported that Russel became investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank in July 2018 and was promoted to associate in July 2020.

Declining to comment specifically on an ongoing legal case, the bank stated through a spokesperson that it “regularly supports law enforcement and regulatory oversight efforts, including appropriately responding to and cooperating with authorized investigations and proceedings.”

Russell solicited investments from friends, former classmates and colleagues, whom he convinced he had developed a successful strategy for altcoin trading, Bloomberg detailed in a report. He is charged with one count of wire fraud and would face up to 20 years in prison, if convicted. The banker pleaded not guilty and was released on a $200,000 bail.

“Russell turned the demand for cryptocurrency investments into a scheme to defraud numerous investors in order to fund his lifestyle,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace was quoted as stating.

“This Office will continue to aggressively pursue fraudsters perpetrating these schemes against investors in the digital asset markets,” he emphasized. Russel’s indictment comes amid an ongoing crackdown on crypto-related fraud in the United States.

Do you think U.S. prosecutors and regulators will intensify the crackdown on crypto investment fraud schemes? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.