Investigation committee - "Cum-Ex" committee starts hearing witnesses on HSH Nordbank
The Parliamentary Investigative Committee (PUA) of the Hamburg Senate on the Cum-Ex Scandal begins investigations at the Hamburg Senate on Friday (13.30 pm) against the complex of the formerly state-owned HSH Nordbank. A total of seven witnesses and witnesses have been summoned - five from the tax office for large corporations and two from the Hamburg Public Prosecutor's Office.
Originally, the investigative mandate of the PUA was limited to a possible political influence on the tax affair of the Hamburg Warburg Bank implicated in the scandal. At the insistence of the opposition, it was expanded at the end of 2022 to include further "Cum-Ex" cases.
The HSH Nordbank had obtained capital gains taxes worth 126 million Euros in 29 cases between 2008 and 2011, which had not been paid before. This was revealed in an investigation by the law firm Clifford Chance, which was commissioned by the bank itself. The cases were reported to the public prosecutor's office and 126 million Euros were returned to the tax authorities in 2014, according to the bank. At the end of 2018, the former Landesbank of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein was sold to US investors on the instructions of the EU Commission and renamed Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) after privatization.
Further investigative committee sessions are scheduled to include currently and formerly political office holders such as Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher (both SPD), their predecessors Ole von Beust and Christoph Ahlhaus, as well as the former finance senator Wolfgang Peiner and the former Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein, Peter Harry Carstensen (all CDU).
The Parliamentary Investigative Committee (PUA) is conducting its investigations at the Hamburg Senate's complex, which formerly housed HSH Nordbank. The public prosecutor's office played a role in the proceedings, summoning two of its officials to testify. The investigation revolves around the bank's finances and Taxes, as HSH Nordbank had secured unpaid capital gains taxes of 126 million Euros in 29 cases between 2008 and 2011. The case was reported to the public prosecutor's office and the taxes were returned to the authorities in 2014. The banking institution, now renamed Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) following privatization, has been under scrutiny for its potential involvement in the 'Cum-Ex' Scandal. The investigation committee aims to examine the role of various politicians, including Citizenship holders, in the affair.
