Commission guaranteed
“Panama Papers” informant is suing the BKA
08/05/2023, 3:35 p.m
In 2016, the BKA bought the “Panama Papers” to catch tax evaders. As a result, the Treasury receives additional tax revenue in the millions. Now, according to a report, the seller is asking for a commission. A document confirms that this had been agreed.
According to a media report, the informant of the “Panama Papers” is seeking a legal dispute with the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). He was promised a commission on the tax revenue resulting from the publication, which he apparently did not receive. “World” published a corresponding document from 2017. It bears the signature of the then BKA Vice President BKA Peter Henzler. A spokesman for the Federal Criminal Police Office confirmed the authenticity of the letter, but gave no further details.
Accordingly, a participation of ten percent is planned as soon as the tax collected exceeds 50 million euros. From 2018, the whistleblower should therefore receive an annual statement of the funds that have been legally confiscated.
Apparently not receiving the promised commission, the whistleblower filed a lawsuit in Washington DC District Court, according to the report. Accordingly, he wants to sue the Federal Republic of Germany, more precisely the BKA, for the payment of 14.5 million dollars. The reason: He was promised success commissions in the event that tax offenders subsequently had to pay the German tax authorities. For lifetime. However, the court in Washington dismissed the lawsuit, according to “Welt”, because the person refused to give the court his real name on a piece of paper. Now he wants to try it in New York.
The publication of the “Panama Papers” in 2016 triggered tax investigations in many countries and also led to additional tax revenue in the millions in Germany. There are millions of documents about financial transactions of private individuals or companies via letterbox companies in tax havens. These include politicians, celebrities and corporations.
Former North Rhine-Westphalia Finance Minister Norbert Walter-Borjans criticized the promised commission payments. “In North Rhine-Westphalia we didn’t get involved with such commission payments,” said the “Welt”. Among the whistleblowers there are “such and such”. It was important to him “not to put himself in their hands”. According to Walter-Borjans, agreeing to commission payments can be very expensive for the taxpayer – “especially if the place of jurisdiction is in the USA, as in the case of the Federal Criminal Police Office”.