Deutsche Bank has announced that Joerg Bongartz, chairman of the management board of the bank and head of global transaction banking (GTB) Russia, will relocate to Frankfurt and assume a broader responsibility in the Central and Eastern European business of the bank.

Bongartz has held his previous position since 2006. In his time at the bank, where he started in 1982, he helped setting up a transaction banking platform in Russia. He contributed to the development of the Russian financial market infrastructure through roles with the Foreign Investment Advisory Council, the National Settlement Depository, and various banking and business associations.

According to a Deutsche Bank statement, the move had been long planned, but it comes at a challenging time for the bank’s business in Russia. The US Department of Justice is investigating Deutsche Bank’s trades made on behalf of Russian clients and the bank itself is conducting an investigation into the matter, as Bloomberg reported. Media reports this week also speculate that the bank will be closing all its operations in Russia, except for GTB.

A bank’s spokesperson says Bongartz’s successor has been identified internally and will be nominated by the supervisory board of Deutsche Bank, subject to approval by regulatory authorities, but won’t comment at this stage on whether his positions will be filled by one or more people.