Wolfgang Goessmann, HSH Nordbank

In the August 30, 2010 article by Karen Matussek at Bloomberg.com, entitled, ''HSH Nordbank Counsel Denies Allegations Ex-Manager in New York Was Framed'', HSH Nordbank AG General Counsel Wolfgang Goessmann is said to have rejected allegations he may have helped frame the former head of the bank’s New York branch, identified only at this point as Roland K. His full name has remained confidential since child pornography was found on his computer – and it may not even be his.

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.

In the Bloomberg.com article, the lawyers were quoted as saying: ''The course of events – the material being found after the dismissal – already shows that the allegation K. was framed to find a reason to fire him is baseless. There was and is no relation between K’s termination and the material found after the termination.''

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.