Will the “Cum-Ex” scandal catch up with leading SPD politicians in Hamburg? After the explosive searches this week, the investigation continues in the Hamburg parliament.
The Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry (PUA) of the Hamburg citizenship into the “Cum-Ex” scandal surrounding the Warburg Bank continued its work on Friday by questioning other witnesses.
Two employees from the tax authorities and the tax office for large companies were invited. Politicians refused to influence their decisions and their work.
However, the clerk responsible for the bank in the tax office for large companies – unlike his superiors – was of the opinion that the Warburg Bank should have been asked to pay. “I was of the opinion that the money had to be reclaimed,” he said – and added, with a view to the ultimately contrary decision: “The champagne corks popped in the bank.”
In 2016, the tax office for large companies initially waived additional tax claims against Warburg Bank in the amount of EUR 47 million after the limitation period had expired. Another 43 million euros in capital gains tax was only claimed in 2017 after the Federal Ministry of Finance intervened. The committee now wants to clarify whether leading SPD politicians have exerted any influence. The background to this are meetings between the then Mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz, and the co-owners of the bank, Max Warburg and Christian Olearius, in 2016 and 2017. At that time, there were investigations against Olearius on suspicion of serious tax evasion.
Scholz had admitted the meetings in the committee of inquiry, but stated that he could not remember the content of the discussions. However, there was no influence on the tax procedure. Ultimately, the tax claims were only paid in full last year.
De Masi: SPD has to repay “dirty donation”
According to its own statements, the SPD had accepted donations of 45,500 euros from Warburg Bank and its affiliated companies in 2017, although the bank was already being investigated for cum-ex tax fraud at that time. 7500 euros of the bank went to the SPD national organization, 38,000 euros went to the SPD center of the former Bundestag member Johannes Kahrs.
In the meantime, the acceptance of the donations is also viewed critically in the SPD. “With what we know today, we shouldn’t have accepted these donations,” said Finance Senator Andreas Dressel to the “Hamburger Abendblatt”. The left-wing member of the Bundestag Fabio de Masi called this realization “very late”. In the direction of the SPD, he said: “The SPD Hamburg must repay the dirty Cum-Ex donation immediately.”
The entire complex experienced new explosiveness last Tuesday when the Cologne public prosecutor’s office in Hamburg raided Kahrs’ private rooms. There is an initial suspicion of favoritism.
In “cum ex” transactions, financial players postponed large blocks of shares with (“cum”) and without (“ex”) dividend entitlement around the dividend cut-off date in a tricky system and then had taxes reimbursed several times. According to a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice, this is now a criminal offense.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
