Exclusive
Status: 05.07.2022 4:12 p.m
According to information from the Cologne public prosecutor’s office, WDR and SZ charges against banker Olearius. She accuses the ex-head of the Hamburg private bank Warburg, among other things, of serious tax evasion. The banker denies the allegations.
By Massimo Bognanni and Nils Wischmeyer (WDR)
She had been awaited with great excitement for months: the indictment against Christian Olearius, co-owner of the Hamburg private bank MM Warburg and its boss until 2014. Their cum-ex deals have not only brought the bank, but also Chancellor Olaf Scholz in need of explanation.
After research by WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ), the indictment reached the responsible regional court in Bonn on Monday. If the court allows the indictment, the ex-boss, ex-chief supervisor and co-owner of the Warburg-Bank would then be in the dock, where he would have to defend himself against the allegations of the public prosecutor’s office for the first time. This accuses him, among other things, of serious tax evasion, which is said to have caused tax damage of well over 100 million euros.
Specifically, according to the research, it is about a crime period from 2007 and about Warburg Bank’s own transactions and two of its funds, which are considered so-called cum-ex deals. In the past, Olearius had always emphasized that he did not know that illegal things were going on in the business. On request from WDR and SZ, his lawyer has not commented on the allegations at the moment, but emphasizes that no tax damage has occurred. All tax claims have been settled.
Bank admits mistakes
In fact, Warburg has already transferred 155 million euros to the Treasury after the Bonn Regional Court ordered confiscation from the money house. On request, the bank also stated that all tax claims had been settled by the main shareholders, but also admitted to mistakes. A spokesman writes on request: The tax assessment of the cum-ex transactions by the Warburg Group has proven to be wrong. “The members of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Directors of MMWarburg & CO disapprove of illegal tax arrangements of any kind.”
In cum-ex deals, banks, stockbrokers and financial institutions have recovered taxes they never paid before. The state suffered billions in damage. It wasn’t until 2012 that the authorities managed to stop the business. Public prosecutors are now trying to get the money back and have been able to achieve initial success. In three proceedings before the Bonn Regional Court, the judges ruled that cum-ex deals were illegal and a tampering with the state coffers. All of the accused were sentenced to imprisonment, some on probation. Further proceedings, including against Hanno Berger, whom many in the media call “Mr. Cum-Ex”, are currently underway in Bonn and Wiesbaden.
Multiple convictions
Should Olearius be put in the dock, it would be a great success for the public prosecutor and a severe blow for the private bank in Hamburg. She is now in the public eye again, having already played an important role in the first three trials before the district court in Bonn.
In the first trial, the court sentenced two British stock traders to suspended prison terms and demanded a payment of more than 100 million euros from the Hamburg private bank, which the Federal Court of Justice confirmed and which they have since paid.
Two former Warburg bankers have also been sentenced: one to five years and six months in prison, the other to three years and six months. Both judgments are not yet final. At the time, the judge justified manager M.’s comparatively mild sentence with his confession.
Meeting with Scholz
Olearius resigned from all offices in the bank in 2019. But he has been playing an important role for the public for a long time: because of his relationship with Olaf Scholz. Olearius had met several times with today’s Federal Chancellor and former First Mayor of Hamburg.
The talks should also have been about cum-ex deals and at a particularly spicy time. At that time, the Hamburg tax office had checked old transactions again and wanted almost 47 million euros in taxes from cum-ex transactions from 2009. Olearius met Scholz shortly afterwards. A little later, the tax office refrained from the repayment. Scholz and the then Finance Senator and current Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher deny any political influence. In Hamburg, a parliamentary committee of inquiry is trying to clarify the events.