The interim proceedings against the former top banker Christian Olearius of the private bank will be postponed.
(Photo: IMAGO/Hanno Bode)
Cologne Serious breakdown at the Bonn Regional Court: Edgar Panizza, chief criminal judge in the Christian Olearius case, has been declared biased. This means that the interim proceedings against the accused top banker from MM Warburg must be restarted. The charge of serious tax evasion has been available since the beginning of July 2022. In the interim proceedings, the court must decide whether to admit the indictment.
The dismissal of a judge is an extremely rare event, especially since the own criminal chamber decides on the dismissal of its chairman. Panizza is said to have passed documents to Olearius’ defense attorneys, which were intended only for internal court purposes. Judges speak of the hand file. This hand file is said to have shown that Panizza exchanged views with a judge from another chamber that also deals with cum-ex cases.
Olearius’ lawyers received this information as part of an inspection of the files. This was followed by a motion for bias against the presiding judge, which was now successful. “The use of these documents leads – according to the 13th Criminal Court – to the fact that Dr. With a reasonable assessment of the external circumstances, Olearius may have doubts that transparent and objective proceedings are being conducted against him,” explained Peter Gauweiler, one of Olearius’ lawyers.
The interim proceedings against Olearius will thus be even longer. The prominent banker was the leading figure at the Hamburg private bank MM Warburg for many years and is today its largest shareholder alongside Max Warburg.
The bank was deeply involved in cum-ex transactions, both in proprietary trading and in fund business through its subsidiary Warburg Invest. The Latin term cum-ex refers to share group transactions with (cum) and without (ex) dividends. The only goal of those involved was to have capital gains tax refunded that had not been paid.
The Bonn Regional Court has sentenced Christian S., MM Warburg’s former chief representative and Olearius’ right-hand man, to five and a half years in prison. S. has started his sentence. A former manager of Warburg Invest was also sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
It’s several hundred million euros
In the indictment against Olearius, the public prosecutor’s office accuses the banker of involvement in tax evasion of almost 300 million euros. Olearius was “participated in the crime plan,” according to the investigators.
The most important Warburg advisor in the cum-ex deals was tax attorney Hanno Berger, who was sentenced to eight years in prison by the court. According to the public prosecutor, Olearius is said to have invested millions in Cum-Ex himself through an investment company. Olearius has so far rejected all allegations.
The bank itself has since distanced itself from the business. “The Warburg Group’s tax assessment of the cum-ex transactions has proven to be incorrect,” it says on its website. “The members of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Directors of MM Warburg & Co disapprove of illegal tax arrangements of any kind.”
The Olearius case is also politically charged because there was a close relationship between the banker and Chancellor Olaf Scholz when he was still the first mayor of Hamburg. There were several meetings between Olearius and Scholz in 2016 and 2017 when it came to the possible reclaim of taxes from the cum-ex deals. In one year, the Hamburg tax office waived the reclaim, although investigations were already underway. The Federal Ministry of Finance later intervened and issued instructions.
Scholz has so far rejected all allegations of political influence. The investigative committee of the Hamburg Parliament wants to interview him for the third time.
Olearius has at least gained time by dismissing the judge. A decision by the court on the admission of the indictment is not expected until the summer at the earliest.
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