Clearstream's Reputation Is Cleared As Luxembourg Investigation Closes

The investigative authority in Luxembourg has formally cleared Clearstream of any wrongdoing following detailed investigation after false allegations were published in the books entitled 'Révélation$' and 'La Boîte Noire'. The authority has confirmed to Clearstream that investigation is now completed and closed. Already in July 2001 the Luxembourg prosecutor had concluded there was no evidence of systematic money laundering within Clearstream. Following over three years of detailed investigation, the entire process has been closed and no further action will be taken.

Following the closure of the Luxembourg investigation André Roelants, Chairman designate of Clearstream International stated, "We have always said that we consider the allegations unfounded and false. This announcement is very important as it closes this chapter, once and for all."

Clearstream has successfully undertaken legal actions against the authors of the books and other media organizations. In March this year, 'Le Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris' sentenced the author Denis Robert and publisher Les Arènes of the book Révélation$ as well as the French TV company Canal+ France for public defamation. The court did not find evidence to support allegations against Clearstream that were published in this book and a TV program in 2001. Defendants were judged to have failed in their attempts to prove all allegations and furthermore, the Court rejected the evidence and witness statements provided by Regis Hempel and Ernest Backes. In fact the Court ordered the final judgement to be printed in two newspapers with an insertion explaining the defamatory nature of the material.

In the same month, Deutsche Börse and Clearstream obtained an interim injunction from the Düsseldorf court against the Norddeutscher Rundfunk, the WDR journalist Marcus Schmidt and Ernest Backes, the co-author of the book 'Révélation$' aimed against Clearstream. This resulted from false factual statements made in the television news broadcasting program Tagesthemen of 16 February 2004. These statements have been prohibited by this judicial procedure.

In a separate proceeding, completed in May 2002, 'Le Tribunal de Grande Instance de Nanterre' concluded that articles published by Le Figaro in February 2001 were defamatory towards Clearstream. The court ordered symbolic damages to be paid and that the Court's decision be published in the newspaper which was subsequently done.