The traditional Hamburg bank is deeply involved in the Cum-Ex affair surrounding double tax refunds.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Dusseldorf Richard Seelmaecker is at the end of his patience. The Hamburg CDU politician has written a letter to NRW Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach (Greens). His tone is friendly, but the matter is harsh: by September 20th, the minister should provide him with the data secured in an investigation, which could have immense importance for the work of the investigative committee. He and other members of the committee want to clarify political responsibility in the tax scandal surrounding MM Warburg.
The traditional Hamburg bank is deeply involved in the Cum-Ex affair surrounding double tax refunds. Several former employees have already been convicted, and as of Monday, long-time partner and boss Christian Olearius will be in the dock in Bonn. The fact that the legal investigation is taking place in North Rhine-Westphalia is part of the scandal – the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office never wanted to investigate.
Starting in 2016, Olearius used his political contacts to save millions. His bank had previously been involved on a large scale in cum-ex transactions. At that time it became apparent that the tax office would demand money back. Olearius met with SPD politicians and several times with the then acting First Mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz, to talk about it. The tax office then waived the reclaim of 47 million euros in taxes from 2006 and almost 43 million euros from 2007. Only intervention by the Federal Ministry of Finance prevented something worse from happening.
The Hamburg investigative committee therefore wants, among other things, the electronic mailboxes of close employees of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, including his Office manager Jeanette Schwamberger and today’s Chancellery Minister Wolfgang Schmidt (SPD) read out. They are part of the investigation file 213 Js 100/21 in Cologne. The committee is also interested in the communication of the SPD politicians Johannes Kahrs and Alfons Pawelczyk for its educational work. The investigation is directed against Kahrs, Pawelczyk and the tax officer Daniela P.
There is a risk of further escalation
The committee has been waiting for the documents for more than a year. In June 2022, the message came from the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Justice that the evaluation results just had to be written down. The investigative committee should receive the evidence – i.e. the seized evidence – immediately afterwards. At that time the ministry was led by Peter Biesenbach (CDU).
To date, the documents have not arrived in Hamburg. Biesenbach’s successor Limbach put off politicians time and time again. Finally, the Hamburgers threatened to sue to force the publication. On July 5, 2023, Limbach sent a high-profile four-person delegation with ministry officials to the Hanseatic city to apologize. The lawyers handed over a data stick with seven terabytes. The argument seemed averted.
However, the peace between Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia did not last long. The emissaries from North Rhine-Westphalia had not delivered what the MPs had expected. It contained huge amounts of data on HSH Nordbank. She also took part in cum-ex business.
However, the HSH data does not help in clearing up the scandal surrounding MM Warburg. “We need other documents, we have always communicated that clearly,” says Seelmaecker. “I feel deceived. NRW provides us with mountains of data, just not the data that we have been requesting for over a year,” says Norbert Hackbusch (Left), who is also a member of the investigative committee. The fact that Seelmaecker is now setting a deadline for the NRW minister meets with his approval.
Hamburg praise for cum-ex investigators in North Rhine-Westphalia
Justice Minister Limbach did not want to respond to specific questions about the data. A spokesman for the minister simply said that the responsible department of the ministry was preparing to deliver further files to the investigative committee in Hamburg. A few weeks ago, Limbach explained to the Legal Affairs Committee that the judiciary in North Rhine-Westphalia had to check whether data was included that “affects the core area of personal rights”.
A spokesman for the minister says that the responsible department of the ministry is preparing to deliver further files to the investigative committee in Hamburg in this case.
(Photo: dpa)
At this point too, the Minister of Justice received objections from Hamburg. Such an examination is the responsibility of the committee, says Seelmaecker, citing a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court. Hamburg has to decide which data is relevant and which is not.
His letter to Düsseldorf ends on a conciliatory note. In contrast to those from Hamburg, the investigators in North Rhine-Westphalia did a “great job”. The Cologne public prosecutor’s office calls Seelmaecker the German spearhead of the criminal investigation into the billion-dollar Cum-Ex scandal. “Without their committed, fearless, diligent and conscientious work, the charges and convictions of the perpetrators, which have now been confirmed by the highest court, would not have come about,” wrote Seelmaecker to the North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of Justice. He hoped that the committee could make a contribution to solving these “shameful crimes”.
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