Germany charges four men over €20m tax evasion in cum-ex scandal

Germany has brought charges against four former employees of Commerzbank on suspicion of serious tax evasion linked to the cum-ex fraud scandal. 

The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday the four men - two British nationals aged 66 and 59, a 61-year-old German and a 60-year-old US citizen - are responsible for tax losses amounting to more than €20 million ($23.4 million).

Cum-ex, which peaked between 2006 and 2011, was a complex share-trading scheme around dividend dates in which financial actors claimed refunds or credits for dividend tax that had not actually been paid, causing major losses for tax authorities.

Germany was particularly badly hit, with the country estimated to have suffered tax losses running into the tens of billions of euros.

The latest case concerns share transactions in 2008. The four bankers are alleged to have developed, authorized and implemented the cum-ex transactions "in conscious and deliberate collusion." Two were working in Frankfurt at the time of the offences, whilst the other two were in London.

Commerzbank declined to comment on the substance of the case. "We do not comment on proceedings against third parties," a spokesman said in response to an enquiry. "Commerzbank is not itself a party to the proceedings."

Various public prosecutor's offices in Germany have been investigating the cum-ex scandal for years. Twelve defendants have already been convicted by courts in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.

The Frankfurt-based authority is still investigating Cum-Ex in 10 "extensive sets of proceedings" against a total of 39 accused individuals.