Some of the profits may have generated at the bank's expense, for a handful of current and former employees, the paper said.

Among those who internal auditors believe profited from the trades is Colin Fan, who was co-head of Deutsche Bank's investment bank when he left as part of a shake-up in October, the newspaper reported.

The paper said the auditors estimate that Fan has made $9 million on a roughly $1 million investment.

Altogether, internal auditors estimate that the six current and former Deutsche Bank employees have made about $37 million on the trades, which will close off next year, the paper reported, citing a person briefed on the audit.

Deutsche Bank could not immediately be reached for comment, outside regular business hours.

(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Bernard Orr)