exclusive
Paul Mora is wanted worldwide, he is considered the mastermind in the Cum-Ex scandal. According to WDR and SZ prosecutors have submitted an extradition request to New Zealand. He would not be the first fugitive they have brought to court.
The German judiciary is reaching for a phantom in the Cum-Ex scandal: Paul Mora. The investment banker was due to appear before the Wiesbaden Regional Court in spring 2021 for particularly serious tax evasion. According to the indictment, he is said to have cheated the state out of 113 million euros. Together with bankers, consultants and stock traders, he is said to have had taxes refunded that no one had ever paid before. In the industry, they called the raid on the state coffers “Cum-Ex”.
However, the millionaire New Zealander did not even show up for the trial. He apparently preferred to stay in his native New Zealand. The German judiciary was not pleased and has been searching for Mora ever since with red-framed wanted posters.
The 56-year-old’s face – slicked back hair, greying temples, chubby cheeks – adorns the posters of the Federal Criminal Police Office that hang in airports and train stations all over the world. “Tax investigation” is written above it in bold letters. In the meantime, the investigators put Mora on Interpol’s “Most Wanted” list. In January of this year, the Cologne public prosecutor’s office also charged the banker with further Cum-Ex transactions.
Paul Mora on a BKA wanted poster
Extradition request to New Zealand
All efforts to bring Mora before a German court have so far come to nothing. But behind the scenes, the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office is increasing the pressure considerably. According to research by WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, prosecutors have submitted an extradition request to New Zealand. A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office confirmed this upon request.
The outcome is uncertain. New Zealand does not usually extradite its citizens. But there is growing hope in legal circles that an exception will be made. After all, the application has been under consideration for a year now and has not yet been rejected.
Paul Mora’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations and the extradition request. In the past, the defendant has denied his guilt.
Switzerland extradited “Mr. Cum-Ex”
An extradition of Mora would not be the first time that the arm of the German judiciary has reached out to Cum-Ex suspects in supposedly safe foreign countries. In 2021, for example, Swiss police officers suddenly rang the doorbell of tax lawyer Hanno Berger’s villa in the idyllic upscale town of Zuoz.
Nicknamed “Mr. Cum-Ex” because of his central role in many of the deals, he was extradited from Switzerland. In Germany, he has now been sentenced to eight years in prison. A further long prison sentence against him is still being considered by the Federal Court of Justice.
The alleged mastermind Sanjay Shah, who lives in Dubai, was also unable to escape justice. The United Arab Emirates surprisingly extradited him to Denmark, where he is on trial for Cum-Ex. Shah has protested his innocence there. The hedge fund manager is also facing charges in Germany.
Shares in villa confiscated
According to information from WDR and SZ also hit him in another sensitive area: his assets. In February 2024, investigators confiscated his co-ownership share in a villa in the Swiss municipality of Grindelwald.
The “Villa Flora” impresses with its mountain panorama and its facilities: 8.5 rooms, almost 250 square meters of living space, the property is 1,300 square meters. The Art Nouveau villa from 1909 is currently for sale. The price: around 7.8 million euros.
But even if the property were to change hands, it would still be a long way before the proceeds actually flow into the German state coffers. Because it is not only the accused who are difficult to catch abroad – so is their alleged loot.