Search at BNP Paribas in the tax scandal surrounding cum-ex share deals: Public prosecutors, tax investigators and the police searched the Frankfurt branch of the major French bank for evidence of the transactions at the expense of the state treasury.
"We confirm that the Cologne public prosecutor's office is currently searching the premises of BNP Paribas Germany as part of ongoing investigations in connection with cum-ex transactions," the bank said when asked. The "Handelsblatt" had previously reported on it. "As has been the case since the beginning of the procedure in 2017, the bank continues to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities within the framework of the legal requirements," confirmed a spokeswoman for the bank.
The lead public prosecutor's office in Cologne confirmed without naming names that they had been executing "a search warrant against a bank in Frankfurt am Main" since Tuesday. Private apartments of suspects in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate would also be examined. "The investigation is currently aimed at 58 suspects who worked or work for the bank or its subsidiaries or group companies," said the public prosecutor.
Prosecutors have been investigating for years
In cum-ex transactions, several participants pushed blocks of shares with ("cum") and without ("ex") dividend rights back and forth around the dividend record date. As a result, tax offices reimbursed capital gains taxes that had not been paid at all. The state suffered billions in damage. BNP Paribas Securities Services, in its role as depositary and custodian, handles the settlement of securities transactions for its clients. For years, several public prosecutors have been investigating the "Cum-Ex" complex. The first criminal trials ended with convictions.
According to the Cologne public prosecutor's office, around 130 investigators from several police departments, North Rhine-Westphalian and Hessian tax investigation offices and the Federal Central Tax Office were involved in the current searches.
