In the scandal surrounding so-called cum-ex deals, a verdict was passed against tax attorney Hanno Berger in Wiesbaden this Tuesday. The 72-year-old has been sentenced to eight years and three months in prison for serious tax evasion.
Cum-ex deals are complicated stock deals that beacons and large investors use to move huge sums of money. The aim is to get high refunds from the tax authorities for capital gains taxes that were never paid. According to experts, all of these transactions together have caused damage of more than ten billion euros to the tax authorities.
Berger is considered an important figure in the cum-ex scandal. The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office accused him of brokering some large deals between 2006 and 2008. They would have led to unjustified refunds of 113 million euros. According to the public prosecutor, former employees of the Hypo-Vereinsbank traded Dax shares worth 15.8 billion euros. The beneficiary was a real estate investor who has died in the meantime. The profits were divided.
The defense had pleaded for acquittal
The Attorney General’s Office had asked for a prison sentence of ten years and six months. The defense had pleaded for acquittal. Her argument: Cum-Ex deals were not prohibited at the time in question.
In fact, the tax loophole was only closed by the state in 2012. In 2021, the Federal Court of Justice ruled that cum-ex transactions are to be classified as tax evasion. The deals peaked between 2006 and 2011.
Berger used to control financial institutions as a tax officer, later he switched sides and became self-employed as a tax lawyer. He praised cum-ex deals with banks and the wealthy as legally secure tax optimization, advised on the construction and earned millions from it. Berger had repeatedly rejected the allegations and saw himself as the victim of a judicial scandal.