German Chancellor Again Forced To Deny Link To Bank Tax Scandal Olaf Solz

“I did not influence Warburg’s tax process,” Scholz said at the start of the meeting. “There was no political influence on the tax process.” Hamburg-based MM Warburg & Co, Germany’s oldest and largest private bank, allegedly defrauded the German state of around 300 million euros through a so-called “cum-ex” scheme at least between 2007 and 2011. Cum-ex deals involve trading shares at high speed on or shortly before the ex-dividend date – the day the company checks its records to identify shareholders – and then claiming two or more returns for capital gains tax that had actually been paid to the government only once. The name refers to rapidly tradable shares with (“cum”) and without (“ex”) dividend rights. Last year the German federal court ruled that such schemes were and always have been criminal acts of tax evasion. Scholz, now head of Germany’s three-party coalition government, agreed in September 2016 to meet Warburg’s then-boss Christian Olearius while the bank was already under investigation by financial authorities and owed €47 million in taxes. Shortly after the meeting, the Hamburg authorities told Warburg that she did not have to pay the bill after all – a decision that was partially reversed a year later by Berlin’s federal finance ministry. On Friday Scholz dismissed as “hypothesis and innuendo” claims by opposition politicians that he had influenced the resignation from tax authorities by asking Olearius to forward a document outlining his defense to the city’s finance minister. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Although the allegations focus on events that took place six years ago, the case has recaptured German national media in recent weeks as previously unknown details emerged. It emerged this week that investigators working for the prosecutor in Cologne had seized emails from Scholz’s former office manager that suggested the then-mayor may have deleted data related to the matter. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said the emails clearly “incriminate” Scholz. The meeting between Scholz and Olearius was described in the diary of Warburg’s former boss. This was reported in court and leaked to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, although the politician said he could not remember what they talked about when first questioned by a parliamentary committee. He said there was no “special treatment” for the banker, whose lender has a strong role in Germany’s second-largest city and played a role in rescuing local shipping company Hapag-Lloyd from a sale in 2008. At the chancellor’s annual summer press conference in early August, Soltz sounded increasingly frustrated when pressed by reporters on the case. “An incredible number of people have been interviewed, an incredible number of files have been scrutinized,” the Social Democratic Party (SDP) politician said. “And if you watch the press coverage of the relevant hearings, there is always the same result: there was no political influence when it came to the decisions. I am convinced that this understanding will not change, that is very clear after two and a half years.” Prosecutors in Hamburg supported the chancellor’s position on Tuesday this week, rejecting a legal complaint to open criminal proceedings against Scholz and ruling that so far they had seen no reason to investigate him. Representatives of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the left-wing Die Linke in Hamburg want to expand the scope of the investigative commission to also look into the cum-ex activities of the Hamburg Commercial Bank (formerly HSH Nordbank), which would likely lead to more appearances by the chancellor.

title: “German Chancellor Again Forced To Deny Link To Bank Tax Scandal Olaf Solz Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-13” author: “Karen Walker”

“I did not influence Warburg’s tax process,” Scholz said at the start of the meeting. “There was no political influence on the tax process.” Hamburg-based MM Warburg & Co, Germany’s oldest and largest private bank, allegedly defrauded the German state of around 300 million euros through a so-called “cum-ex” scheme at least between 2007 and 2011. Cum-ex deals involve trading shares at high speed on or shortly before the ex-dividend date – the day the company checks its records to identify shareholders – and then claiming two or more returns for capital gains tax that had actually been paid to the government only once. The name refers to rapidly tradable shares with (“cum”) and without (“ex”) dividend rights. Last year the German federal court ruled that such schemes were and always have been criminal acts of tax evasion. Scholz, now head of Germany’s three-party coalition government, agreed in September 2016 to meet Warburg’s then-boss Christian Olearius while the bank was already under investigation by financial authorities and owed €47 million in taxes. Shortly after the meeting, the Hamburg authorities told Warburg that she did not have to pay the bill after all – a decision that was partially reversed a year later by Berlin’s federal finance ministry. On Friday Scholz dismissed as “hypothesis and innuendo” claims by opposition politicians that he had influenced the resignation from tax authorities by asking Olearius to forward a document outlining his defense to the city’s finance minister. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Although the allegations focus on events that took place six years ago, the case has recaptured German national media in recent weeks as previously unknown details emerged. It emerged this week that investigators working for the prosecutor in Cologne had seized emails from Scholz’s former office manager that suggested the then-mayor may have deleted data related to the matter. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said the emails clearly “incriminate” Scholz. The meeting between Scholz and Olearius was described in the diary of Warburg’s former boss. This was reported in court and leaked to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, although the politician said he could not remember what they talked about when first questioned by a parliamentary committee. He said there was no “special treatment” for the banker, whose lender has a strong role in Germany’s second-largest city and played a role in rescuing local shipping company Hapag-Lloyd from a sale in 2008. At the chancellor’s annual summer press conference in early August, Soltz sounded increasingly frustrated when pressed by reporters on the case. “An incredible number of people have been interviewed, an incredible number of files have been scrutinized,” the Social Democratic Party (SDP) politician said. “And if you watch the press coverage of the relevant hearings, there is always the same result: there was no political influence when it came to the decisions. I am convinced that this understanding will not change, that is very clear after two and a half years.” Prosecutors in Hamburg supported the chancellor’s position on Tuesday this week, rejecting a legal complaint to open criminal proceedings against Scholz and ruling that so far they had seen no reason to investigate him. Representatives of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the left-wing Die Linke in Hamburg want to expand the scope of the investigative commission to also look into the cum-ex activities of the Hamburg Commercial Bank (formerly HSH Nordbank), which would likely lead to more appearances by the chancellor.

title: “German Chancellor Again Forced To Deny Link To Bank Tax Scandal Olaf Solz Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “Beryl Bowling”

“I did not influence Warburg’s tax process,” Scholz said at the start of the meeting. “There was no political influence on the tax process.” Hamburg-based MM Warburg & Co, Germany’s oldest and largest private bank, allegedly defrauded the German state of around 300 million euros through a so-called “cum-ex” scheme at least between 2007 and 2011. Cum-ex deals involve trading shares at high speed on or shortly before the ex-dividend date – the day the company checks its records to identify shareholders – and then claiming two or more returns for capital gains tax that had actually been paid to the government only once. The name refers to rapidly tradable shares with (“cum”) and without (“ex”) dividend rights. Last year the German federal court ruled that such schemes were and always have been criminal acts of tax evasion. Scholz, now head of Germany’s three-party coalition government, agreed in September 2016 to meet Warburg’s then-boss Christian Olearius while the bank was already under investigation by financial authorities and owed €47 million in taxes. Shortly after the meeting, the Hamburg authorities told Warburg that she did not have to pay the bill after all – a decision that was partially reversed a year later by Berlin’s federal finance ministry. On Friday Scholz dismissed as “hypothesis and innuendo” claims by opposition politicians that he had influenced the resignation from tax authorities by asking Olearius to forward a document outlining his defense to the city’s finance minister. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Although the allegations focus on events that took place six years ago, the case has recaptured German national media in recent weeks as previously unknown details emerged. It emerged this week that investigators working for the prosecutor in Cologne had seized emails from Scholz’s former office manager that suggested the then-mayor may have deleted data related to the matter. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said the emails clearly “incriminate” Scholz. The meeting between Scholz and Olearius was described in the diary of Warburg’s former boss. This was reported in court and leaked to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, although the politician said he could not remember what they talked about when first questioned by a parliamentary committee. He said there was no “special treatment” for the banker, whose lender has a strong role in Germany’s second-largest city and played a role in rescuing local shipping company Hapag-Lloyd from a sale in 2008. At the chancellor’s annual summer press conference in early August, Soltz sounded increasingly frustrated when pressed by reporters on the case. “An incredible number of people have been interviewed, an incredible number of files have been scrutinized,” the Social Democratic Party (SDP) politician said. “And if you watch the press coverage of the relevant hearings, there is always the same result: there was no political influence when it came to the decisions. I am convinced that this understanding will not change, that is very clear after two and a half years.” Prosecutors in Hamburg supported the chancellor’s position on Tuesday this week, rejecting a legal complaint to open criminal proceedings against Scholz and ruling that so far they had seen no reason to investigate him. Representatives of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the left-wing Die Linke in Hamburg want to expand the scope of the investigative commission to also look into the cum-ex activities of the Hamburg Commercial Bank (formerly HSH Nordbank), which would likely lead to more appearances by the chancellor.

title: “German Chancellor Again Forced To Deny Link To Bank Tax Scandal Olaf Solz Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-06” author: “Holly Whitfield”

“I did not influence Warburg’s tax process,” Scholz said at the start of the meeting. “There was no political influence on the tax process.” Hamburg-based MM Warburg & Co, Germany’s oldest and largest private bank, allegedly defrauded the German state of around 300 million euros through a so-called “cum-ex” scheme at least between 2007 and 2011. Cum-ex deals involve trading shares at high speed on or shortly before the ex-dividend date – the day the company checks its records to identify shareholders – and then claiming two or more returns for capital gains tax that had actually been paid to the government only once. The name refers to rapidly tradable shares with (“cum”) and without (“ex”) dividend rights. Last year the German federal court ruled that such schemes were and always have been criminal acts of tax evasion. Scholz, now head of Germany’s three-party coalition government, agreed in September 2016 to meet Warburg’s then-boss Christian Olearius while the bank was already under investigation by financial authorities and owed €47 million in taxes. Shortly after the meeting, the Hamburg authorities told Warburg that she did not have to pay the bill after all – a decision that was partially reversed a year later by Berlin’s federal finance ministry. On Friday Scholz dismissed as “hypothesis and innuendo” claims by opposition politicians that he had influenced the resignation from tax authorities by asking Olearius to forward a document outlining his defense to the city’s finance minister. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Although the allegations focus on events that took place six years ago, the case has recaptured German national media in recent weeks as previously unknown details emerged. It emerged this week that investigators working for the prosecutor in Cologne had seized emails from Scholz’s former office manager that suggested the then-mayor may have deleted data related to the matter. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said the emails clearly “incriminate” Scholz. The meeting between Scholz and Olearius was described in the diary of Warburg’s former boss. This was reported in court and leaked to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, although the politician said he could not remember what they talked about when first questioned by a parliamentary committee. He said there was no “special treatment” for the banker, whose lender has a strong role in Germany’s second-largest city and played a role in rescuing local shipping company Hapag-Lloyd from a sale in 2008. At the chancellor’s annual summer press conference in early August, Soltz sounded increasingly frustrated when pressed by reporters on the case. “An incredible number of people have been interviewed, an incredible number of files have been scrutinized,” the Social Democratic Party (SDP) politician said. “And if you watch the press coverage of the relevant hearings, there is always the same result: there was no political influence when it came to the decisions. I am convinced that this understanding will not change, that is very clear after two and a half years.” Prosecutors in Hamburg supported the chancellor’s position on Tuesday this week, rejecting a legal complaint to open criminal proceedings against Scholz and ruling that so far they had seen no reason to investigate him. Representatives of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the left-wing Die Linke in Hamburg want to expand the scope of the investigative commission to also look into the cum-ex activities of the Hamburg Commercial Bank (formerly HSH Nordbank), which would likely lead to more appearances by the chancellor.