German prosecutors raid Deutsche Bank in tax fraud case

Today the Cologne prosecutor’s office spent searches in the Frankfurt headquarters of one of the largest banks in Germany and Europe, Deutsche Bank.

The media reported that searches also took place at the homes of ten former employees of the bank, including Juergen Fitzschen, who served as co-executive director from 2012-2016. The searches were carried out as part of a large-scale long-term tax fraud proceedings under the conditional name cum-ex. Under these schemes, the shares of various companies were bought shortly before the payment of dividends and sold shortly thereafter. Subsequently, a refund of tax on income from capital, paid in fact only once, was issued several times.

In the course of the cum-ex proceedings, the authorities carried out investigative actions against not only German banks, but also banks from others countries operating in Germany, JPMorgan, Barclays, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and others. According to the Cologne prosecutor’s office, the investigation has already affected about 1.5 thousand people. Investigators believe that as a result of fraudulent activities, in which consultants from many banks also participated, the state received less taxes in the amount of about €12 billion.

Evgeniy Khvostik