Susan, there currently is a lot of noise in Europe and I think Norway, Great Britain and France, as well as in Poland investigations are well under way. Germany so far is another matter. Around Epstein we experience a lasting silence.

The Deutsche Bank is and has since 1933 been a holy cow that has been reprimanded but never slaughtered. The Swiss slaughtered their Credit Suisse, but the Germans still think they cannot be successful in this globalized world without the Deutsche Bank.

A banking corporation that operates more like a "fortress of the elite" than a financial utility:

The 2026 Crisis: As of February 14, 2026, Germany is gripped by a major legal crisis.

The January 28 Raids: Just two days before the DOJ unsealed 3 million "Epstein Files," the German Federal Police (BKA) conducted spectacular raids on Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters and Berlin offices. Roughly 30 investigators entered the "Twin Towers," seizing evidence under a money laundering probe targeting the years 2013–2018.

The Abramovich-Epstein Link: While prosecutors initially cited ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the timing is "bitterly ironic." That 2013–2018 window corresponds precisely to the bank's relationship with Epstein. We now know the bank managed over 40 accounts for him during this period, acting as his primary financial engine.

The "April 2019" Revelation: New evidence shows the bank continued serving Epstein well into 2019, long after they claimed to be "offboarding" him. Most shockingly, internal files reveal the bank quickly arranged a request from Epstein for €50,000 in large bills in April 2019—just months before his final arrest.

A "Settlement Echo": While the bank paid $75 million in 2023, new "Jane Doe" lawsuits filed this month (February 2026) allege the bank "fraudulently concealed" the true extent of its involvement.

The Political Shield: Despite these horrors, the political will to act is stifled by the "National Champion" doctrine. Under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the CDU largely views the bank as a systemic utility—like the power grid—that must be preserved at all costs to protect German sovereignty. While younger lawmakers fear the "reputational contagion" of the Epstein link, the current leadership prefers "forced purification" (replacing individuals) over "slaughtering the cow" (breaking up the bank).

Susan Kacvinsky, this bank is the “bailiff” of the modern era—the collector for the distant lords in Germany. It has become a structural pillar of what you call the patriarchal death-culture, so deeply woven into the "Staatsraison" (state reason) that the elite believe the integrity of the German legal system is a price worth paying to keep their "National Champion" on the global stage. And if has survived since 1933 15 to 20 "existential" or major global scandals including most shockingly:

The Holocaust & Aryanization: The bank facilitated the "Aryanization" of 363 Jewish-owned businesses and financed the construction of the Auschwitz death camp.

Survival: After 1945, the Allies initially broke the bank into ten regional entities to destroy its power. However, by 1957, the "National Champion" doctrine won out, and the bank was allowed to re-merge into the single entity we know today.

So you can see the dimension this might take in Germany. This is not just a Bank.

This is a state within the state.