Scandal over tax issues - The Cum-Ex trial against Olearius will be ceased.
The court case against Hamburg banker Christian Olearius (82) is expected to come to a halt because of his poor health condition. The prosecutors have appealed to the Bonn Regional Court seeking to discontinue the trial.
The motivation behind this decision is a medical report provided to the court, which highlights that Olearius' health condition is so critical that each trial day should not last more than 45 minutes. The remaining evidence collection is forecasted to take up to 120 trial days, which is deemed unreasonable given the potential health risks.
Olearius is grappling with blood pressure issues, and a notary has been present in the courtroom according to the court's orders during previous proceedings. Meanwhile, the prosecution has asked the criminal proceedings to be converted into a confiscation procedure and seized the proceeds from his illegal activities, worth approximately 43 million Euro. However, the defense has objected and is demanding an acquittal with a conditional discontinuation of the proceedings. The trial is scheduled to resume on the next Wednesday.
During his testimony in Bonn, Olearius stated that he had not intentionally or knowingly been involved in criminal Cum-Ex transactions. He asserted that he had been engaged in legitimate stock purchase agreements. "Causing harm to the state was not on my agenda," he added.
The Cum-Ex tax fraud scandal, which revolves around illegal stock deals, is deemed as the biggest tax scandal in Germany. Through this scheme, financial professionals passed papers with ("cum") and without ("ex") dividend claims back and forth, resulting in the state paying unwittingly for capital gains taxes that had not been paid. The German government is said to have suffered losses amounting to over ten billion Euros due to around 1700 suspects involved in this malpractice.
From Olearius' diary, it emerged that he had engaged in three meetings with Scholz (then Mayor of Hamburg) during that time. The exact discussions during these meetings are hazy. Nonetheless, it is true that the financial authority abandoned its demand and the claims lapsed in line with the existing legal statutes at the time. Despite this, there is no proof of a direct link between the Scholz-Olearius encounters and the authority's actions. Scholz dismisses any potential political influence and attributes his memory lapses to the content of the conversations.
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The Cum-Ex tax scandal has also drawn attention to North Rhine-Westphalia, where numerous banks are under investigation for their involvement in these illegal activities.
The public prosecutor's office in Bonn is actively pursuing these cases, aiming to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
Despite the halt in the trial against Olearius, it is important to note that the Cum-Ex tax scandal is far from over. Many other individuals and institutions are still under investigation, and the processes are expected to take many months, if not years.
In light of the Cum-Ex scandal, the German government has stepped up its efforts to tighten tax laws and regulations to prevent such incidents in the future.
Meanwhile, an emergency doctor in Hamburg was subpoenaed to testify in the case, adding another layer of complexity to the already intricate investigation.
The Cum-Ex trial against Olearius may be halted due to his health condition, but the fight against tax evasion and fraud continues unabated in Germany.
