Status: 07/09/2021 3:52 p.m.
According to information from WDR and SZ signed an extradition arrest warrant against tax attorney Hanno Berger. The extradition of an alleged key figure in the cum-ex scandal becomes more likely.
From Massimo Bognanni,
WDR
Switzerland is apparently no longer a safe haven for “Mister Cum-Ex”. According to research by WDR and “Süddeutscher Zeitung” (SZ), the Federal Office of Justice this week issued an extradition arrest warrant against Hanno Berger – based on two German arrest warrants and one German extradition application.
The Swiss extradition arrest warrant should therefore state that it is not unlikely that the German extradition request will be granted. This could end a year of back and forth with German law enforcement agencies. The Handelsblatt reported on it first.
When asked, the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the arrest: “The Swiss authorities have reported that Dr. Hanno Berger had been arrested in Switzerland as part of extradition proceedings.” Further information is not available there either.
Key figure in the cum-ex scandal
According to insiders, Hanno Berger, who is considered a key figure in what is probably the largest German tax scandal, was arrested on Wednesday in Bern and was arrested in custody for extradition. It is considered likely that Berger will take all available legal means against his extradition. The 70-year-old vehemently denies having committed tax evasion. Courts will have to decide whether Berger will be extradited.
The public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt and the public prosecutor’s office in Cologne see it differently. Both law enforcement authorities have charged Berger with tax evasion in a particularly serious case. The prosecutors see Berger as a key figure behind “Cum-Ex” share group transactions, in which, according to the prosecutors, bankers, consultants and stock traders have had taxes reimbursed that no one has paid before. Only in the cases for which Berger is charged, the tax authorities suffered damage in the hundreds of millions in evaded taxes.
At the beginning of the year before the Wiesbaden Regional Court, Berger did not appear with reference to his state of health. The court had therefore issued an arrest warrant. A short time later, the Bonn Regional Court also wrote out those living in exile to be wanted.
Berger sees himself as a victim of a campaign
Berger, who was once considered one of the most renowned tax lawyers in the republic, sees himself as a victim of a media campaign. He vehemently denies all allegations. At the time, he only represented the legal opinion that the Federal Fiscal Court had summarized as the prevailing opinion in 2013 and therefore did not make himself liable to prosecution.
For a long time it was unclear whether Switzerland would agree to the extradition of “Mister Cum-Ex”. After all, even tax evaders in the Alpine country are in many cases protected from extradition. In the Hanno Berger case, it seems, the Confederates do not want to further protect the accused from his trial.