A report in German magazine Der Spiegel that Goessmann may have helped gather fabricated evidence to have a reason to fire the manager, identified by the publication as Roland K., is wrong, Goessmann’s lawyers Gernot Lehr and Christian Mensching said in an e-mailed statement.
The two Nordbank executives involved in the suit are the former General Counsel for HSH Nordbank AG, Wolfgang Goessmann, and the bank's CEO, Dirk Jens Nonnenmacher. Both are accused of planting evidence in K's office so the firm would have a reason to fire him. Both deny the allegations.
Goessman's lawyers say the pornography findings were not 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.
According to the Bloomberg.com article, the bank’s press office said in an e-mailed statement that HSH Nordbank is ''systematically'' examining the allegations. The fact that suspicions are being spread before they have been fully investigated indicates that someone is trying to damage the bank, the lender said.
HSH Nordbank is a commercial bank in northern Europe with headquarters in Hamburg and Kiel, Germany. It is active in corporate and private banking. HSH's main focus is on shipping, transportation, real estate and renewable energy. The bank was created as a result of a merger between Hamburgische Landesbank and Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein on June 2, 2003. HSH has significant operations in Luxembourg, New York, London and Singapore. As of December 2009, it employed 4,188 people worldwide.
