In a previous life, Ulf Johannemann once guarded the goal of Prussia Munster. Then he decided to study law, passed the first state exam in 1996 and never looked back. The Westphalian earned a doctorate, studied in the USA, and at the age of 29 he was hired by the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. A grandiose legal career began.
Today, our investigative reporters show how Johannemann’s career went off the rails. The lawyer was the driving force behind the Cum-Ex issue at Freshfields. The art of getting more tax refunded than you paid.
Banks used Johannemann’s reports as a seal of approval and entry ticket for talks with the richest families in the republic. You can make them even richer without any risk.
Internally, Johannemann’s reputation was so resounding that the law firm could not even be dissuaded by sharp official counter-tones. In 2016, when Freshfields reports on Cum-Ex were already the subject of numerous investigation files, the law firm promoted Johannemann to global tax manager.
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In 2019, Johannemann was taken into custody. Shortly before, the tax expert left Freshfields without explanation. In 2021, Freshfields expert opinions were cited in a courtroom as the reason for the collapse of Maple Bank.
More about Cum-Ex:
In this podcast, Handelsblatt Crime traces the life of a man who rose to become one of the big names in his industry in a very short time – and then fell. In a few weeks he will be allowed to sit down – in a dock.
Handelsblatt Crime appears every 14 days and can be heard wherever there are podcasts.
More: You can hear the last episode of Handelsblatt Crime here.