Deutsche Bank Swiss unit to pay fine in tax avoidance case - source

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) has reached an agreement with Cologne public prosecutors to pay a 10 million euro (£8 million) fine in a tax avoidance case involving its Swiss subsidiary, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Germany's biggest bank was under investigation in the case for allegedly helping clients bypass German tax authorities, the person said.

German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which also reported on the case, said an investigation on a similar charge was also under way involving Deutsche Bank's Luxembourg unit, which could lead to a fine of less than 10 million euros.

Deutsche Bank and the Cologne prosecutor's office declined to comment on either case.

Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), HVB (CRDI.MI) and HSH Nordbank [HSH.UL] have already paid millions of euros in fines in similar cases.

German financial watchdog Bafin has sent requests for information to the country's banks to determine their role in setting up offshore shell companies exposed by the publication of the Panama Papers this week, sources familiar with the probe said.

(Reporting by Andreas Kroener in Frankfurt and Matthias Inverardi in Duesseldorf; writing by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Sabine Wollrab and Jane Merriman)