Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, said that a number of its offices in Frankfurt were searched Tuesday, but that prosecutors were looking for evidence of wrong-doing by clients, not bank employees.

"I can confirm that searches were carried out in Deutsche Bank offices in Frankfurt on the orders of the public prosecutors," a spokesman told AFP.

"The purpose of the search was to seize evidence related to investigations against bank customers. No bank employees are accused of any wrongdoing," the spokesman said.

Deutsche Bank is currently mired in around 6,000 different litigation cases and was last month fined a record $2.5 billion (2.2 billion euros) for its involvement in an interest rate-rigging scandal.

One of its two chief executives, Juergen Fitschen, is currently on trial over allegations he gave misleading testimony in 2002 and could even face prison if found guilty.

In a bid to make a fresh start, both Fitschen and his co-CEO Anshu Jain, who have been in office since 2012, are stepping down, the bank announced on Sunday.