Investigation committee - Witness hearings on the "cum-ex" scandal started
The Parliamentary Investigative Committee of the Hamburg Senate on the "Cum-Ex" Scandal has begun hearing evidence from the complex of the formerly state-owned HSH Nordbank. A total of seven witnesses and witnesses were summoned - five from the Large Corporations Tax Office and two from the Hamburg Public Prosecutor's Office. Originally, the investigation 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 other "Cum-Ex" cases.
The HSH Nordbank had claimed capital gains taxes for 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 approximately 126 million Euros were returned to the tax administration in 2014, the bank stated. At the end of 2018, the former Landbank 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.
- The expansion of the Parliamentary Investigation Committee's mandate included examining other "Cum-Ex" cases aside from the Hamburg Warburg Bank's tax affair.
- The investigative committee is currently conducting an examination of witnesses from both the Large Corporations Tax Office and the Hamburg Public Prosecutor's Office.
- The sale of HSH Nordbank to US investors in 2018 was ordered by the EU Commission due to financial issues, which later led to its rebranding as Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB).
- The former HSH Nordbank had an issue with capital gains taxes in 25 out of 29 cases between 2008 and 2011, as reported by the public prosecutor's office.
- The investigation by Clifford Chance, commissioned by HSH Nordbank, revealed a significant issue with unpaid taxes, leading to returns of approximately 126 million Euros in 2014.
