The leadership of Germany's HSH Nordbank is accused of planting child pornography on a work computer, breaking into an employee's house, and illegal wiretapping, in order to get rid of unwanted senior officials.

1. General Counsel Consulting Career Feature
Wolfgang Goessmann, HSH Nordbank
By Rebecca Neely
The leadership of Germany’s HSH Nordbank is accused of planting child pornography on a work computer, breaking into an employee’s
house, and illegal wiretapping, in order to get rid of unwanted senior officials. In the last week, prosecutors in both New York and
Germany have launched investigations.
In the August 30, 2010 article by Karen Matussek at In the Bloomberg.com article, the lawyers were quoted as
Bloomberg.com, entitled, ‘’HSH Nordbank Counsel Denies saying: ‘’The course of events – the material being found
Allegations Ex-Manager in New York Was Framed’’, HSH after the dismissal – already shows that the allegation K. was
Nordbank AG General Counsel Wolfgang Goessmann is said framed to find a reason to fire him is baseless. There was and
to have rejected allegations he may have helped frame the is no relation between K’s termination and the material found
former head of the bank’s New York branch, identified only at after the termination.’’
this point as Roland K. His full name has remained confidential
since child pornography was found on his computer – and it According to the Bloomberg.com article, the bank’s press
may not even be his. office said in an e-mailed statement that HSH Nordbank is
‘’systematically’’ examining the allegations. The fact that
A report in German magazine Der Spiegel that Goessmann suspicions are being spread before they have been fully
may have helped gather fabricated evidence to have a reason investigated indicates that someone is trying to damage the
to fire the manager, identified by the publication as Roland bank, the lender said.
K., is wrong, Goessmann’s lawyers Gernot Lehr and Christian
Mensching said in an e-mailed statement. HSH Nordbank is a commercial bank in northern Europe with
headquarters in Hamburg and Kiel, Germany. It is active
The two Nordbank executives involved in the suit are the in corporate and private banking. HSH’s main focus is on
former General Counsel for HSH Nordbank AG, Wolfgang shipping, transportation, real estate and renewable energy.
Goessmann, and the bank’s CEO, Dirk Jens Nonnenmacher. The bank was created as a result of a merger between
Both are accused of planting evidence in K’s office so the firm Hamburgische Landesbank and Landesbank Schleswig-
would have a reason to fire him. Both deny the allegations. Holstein on June 2, 2003. HSH has significant operations
in Luxembourg, New York, London and Singapore. As of
Goessman’s lawyers say the pornography findings were not December 2009, it employed 4,188 people worldwide.
the reason for K’s firing, because K’s office was searched in
September after he was let go, and that what was found -
child pornography images - was not fabricated.
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