German police search Adler Real Estate in accounting inquiry (updated)

Adler SA

28/06/2023 09:12

(Recasts with Adler Real Estate being searched, adds details in
paragraphs 3-6, no comment from BaFin in paragraph 8, adds
background in paragraphs 9-10)
       June 28 (Reuters) - Adler Real Estate  ADLG.DE  was
searched by German police on Wednesday, a spokesperson for its
majority owner Adler Group said, adding that it was cooperating
with an investigation.
    Frankfurt prosecutors said that 20 offices and apartments as
well as a law firm in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Monaco, Luxembourg and Britain were searched.
    Around 175 people from the public prosecutor's office and
the federal police were involved, they said in a statement. 
    German, Austrian and British nationals between the ages of
38 and 66 are under suspicion of false accounting, market
manipulation and breach of trust, the prosecutors added.
    Several current and former board members of
Berlin-headquartered Adler Real Estate are suspected of
misrepresenting balance sheets or supporting others in doing so
between 2018 and 2020, the prosecutors said. 
    They are also suspected of making fictitious transactions to
drive up prices for projects and achieve a favourable
loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, sending false signals to capital
markets, the Frankfurt prosecutors said in the statement. 
    The Adler Group spokesperson said that none of the parent
company's board members were under investigation.  
    Germany's financial regulator BaFin had no comment.   
    Adler, one of Germany's biggest landlords, has been
embroiled in an accounting investigation following accusations
by short sellers in 2021 that the company's balance sheet had
been artificially inflated. 
    Auditors from KPMG had refused to give Adler Group an audit
certificate for the 2021 annual financial statements, citing a
lack of information on transactions with persons related to
Adler, and also refused to accept the mandate for 2022. 

 (Reporting by Matthias Inverardi, Writing by Friederike Heine
and Miranda Murray)
 ((Andrey.Sychev2@thomsonreuters.com;))