2015.10.2521:00:00UTC+00US regulators expand probe into Deutsche Russian unit

US regulators are widening their investigation into Deutsche Bank AG as a money laundering probe looking into the firm's Russian unit has widened into potential sanctions violations.

Citing sources privy to the matter, the Financial Times reported the US Justice Department and New York's Department of Financial Services are expanding the extent of their probe into the bank since a few transactions allegedly involved US dollars and a former banker who is an American citizen.

The business daily added the said investigation, encompassing trades amounting to $6 billion, would be one of the first by the American regulators about a likely breach of Western sanctions against Russia following its annexation of Crimea last year.

The probe would focus on mirror trades, which could enable the transfer of funds from one country to another without going through standard procedures for cross-border money transfers.