Germany's Deutsche Bank has dismissed two top executives following an internal investigation into whether the company conducted surveillance on a board member and others, people familiar with the matter said. The case is raising concerns in a society still coming to terms with East Germany's legacy of spying on citizens.

The dismissals come as prosecutors in Frankfurt have opened a preliminary probe into whether Deutsche Bank or its senior officials may have violated a set of civil and criminal laws that protect individual privacy by spying on an activist shareholder. Germany's financial regulators and the state's Data Protection Authority are also examining the incidents.