Bonn –
Judge Roland Zickler found the former risk analyst at MM Warburg guilty of two counts of tax evasion on Wednesday.
(Photo: Reuters)
The Bonn Regional Court has concluded the third criminal proceedings in the Cum-Ex complex. The accused banker of the MM Warburg subsidiary Warburg Invest was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. According to the court, he is considered an accomplice in two cases of serious tax evasion.
The criminal proceedings dealt with the question of what guilt the investment banker M. bears. As manager of Warburg Invest – a subsidiary of the Hamburg private bank MM Warburg – he was responsible for two cum-ex funds in which rich investors could invest their money.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
These are the funds BC German Equity from 2009 and BC German Hedge from 2010. The profits from these funds ultimately came from the tax fund. This was based on share group transactions aimed at having a capital gains tax once paid be reimbursed several times. The damage in the accused case is said to have amounted to 109 million euros.
During the trial against M. there was a surprising turn. At first, the accused denied the allegations – until the presiding judge Zickler urged the accused to finally tell the truth.
On the 13th day of the trial, the accused then made a confession. “I kept talking the events and events back then,” said M. finally in court. The reason was “to justify my actions at the time to myself, to others and also to the judiciary. That was wrong.” He feared that a refusal would have caused “the end of my career”.
Immediately after the confession, the judge made it clear that the court will consider the confession as a mitigating sentence. “You’ve done yourself one of the greatest favors anyone can do,” Zickler said. That was now confirmed. With the penalty, the criminal court remains well below the demand of the public prosecutor, who had pleaded for seven years in prison.
Ex-bank boss Christian Olearius is on the defensive
M. is the second banker to be sentenced to a long prison term for his actions in the cum-ex scandal. The Bonn Regional Court had previously sentenced S., who had been MM Warburg General Representative for many years, to five and a half years in prison. According to the court, S., as the right hand of bank boss Christian Olearius, knew exactly how the business worked.
The key to the double refund was short selling. “We do not believe the defendant that he assumed owner sales,” said presiding judge Roland Zickler at the verdict. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The Federal Court of Justice will soon decide on the appeal.
With the first two sentences, the investigation file in the Warburg complex is far from closed. Two more Warburg bankers will soon have to take their place in the dock. It is a stock trader and another manager. Both are still employed by the bank today. The court has already accepted the indictment.
A number of other Warburg managers are also accused, including Christian Olearius, who led the bank for many years and is one of the main owners. Olearius has always denied the allegations. However, his starting position has deteriorated as a result of the previous criminal proceedings. An indictment is considered very likely.
More: Raid on PwC: investigators search offices in Frankfurt.