Cum-Ex tax process in Bonn
Olearius sees himself as a victim of “prejudgment”
October 16, 2023, 4:21 p.m
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Christian Olearius is accused of serious tax evasion and involvement in cum-ex transactions. In the trial, the banker now protests his innocence and heavily criticizes the authorities. He also commented on a controversial meeting with Olaf Scholz.
In the Cum-Ex tax trial before the Bonn regional court, the former head of the Hamburg private bank Warburg, Christian Olearius, rejected the allegations against him and harshly criticized the investigative authorities. “I neither knowingly nor willingly participated in criminal cum-ex transactions,” he said in Bonn. “I was far from harming the state,” emphasized Olearius. “I know I’m innocent.” He sees himself as a victim of “prejudgment.”
With a view to controversial meetings with the then First Mayor of Hamburg and current Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Olearius said that allegations that he had tried to persuade Scholz to violate his official duties were “adventurous.” In Warburg Bank’s area of responsibility, there was “no double collection” of capital gains taxes, and he knew nothing about short sales – a central element in the cum-ex transactions, Olearius continued.
He himself assumed that the transactions were so-called “dividend stripping”. “This banking service (…) was and is permitted and permissible according to the case law of the Federal Finance Court and the European Court of Justice,” added the 81-year-old. These transactions are particularly beneficial for foreign investors.
Damage in the billions
Olearius’ lawyers explained that central points of the indictment had not been proven by the public prosecutor’s office. The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of serious tax evasion in 14 cases between 2006 and 2020. The damage to the tax authorities is almost 280 million euros. According to the public prosecutor’s office, Olearius had dealt in detail with the strategies of the Warburg bank and had also approved cum-ex transactions. The banker has repeatedly denied the allegations. His defense lawyers also criticized the prosecution authorities heavily during the trial. “The Cologne public prosecutor’s office took part in the public pre-judgment of the defendant Olearius to an unprecedented extent, took responsibility for it and in some cases actively pursued it,” said Olearius’ lawyer Peter Gauweiler.
The German state suffered billions of dollars in damages as a result of the Cum-Ex transactions. Investors had the capital gains tax they paid on stock dividends reimbursed several times with the help of banks. To do this, they shifted shares among themselves with – i.e. cum – and without – ex – dividend entitlement around the cut-off date of the dividend payment. The cases had a wide impact, which is why there are repeated searches at banks and law firms. The Cologne public prosecutor’s office alone is currently conducting around 120 investigations in the “Cum-Ex area”, which, according to their information, are directed against around 1,700 accused.
“Legitimate concern to teach Scholz”
The Warburg case also plays a role in federal politics. The Union had unsuccessfully called for the establishment of an investigative committee in the Bundestag. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is accused of having influenced the Cum-Ex tax affair during his time as Hamburg’s first mayor. Scholz has repeatedly rejected this. In this case, the tax authorities of the Hanseatic city had waived a claim of 47 million euros from the Warburg Bank. Back then – in 2016 and 2017 – Scholz had contact with Olearius several times.
“With the prosecution’s intrusion into the press and the media’s prejudgment, it was a legitimate concern to inform Mayor Scholz as the head of a manageable community and to give our perspective,” said Olearius. It is adventurous to believe that he had the “impudence” to persuade the mayor at the time “to violate his official duties.” “My diary entries from the last meeting with Mr. Scholz are reproduced imperfectly,” Olearius continued to complain.