"No minor offenses": Olaf Scholz and the Cum-Ex scandal - will it cost him his candidacy for chancellor?

Merkur "No minor offenses": Olaf Scholz and the Cum-Ex scandal - will it cost him his candidacy for chancellor? Theresa Breitsching • 4 hours • 3 minutes reading time Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is to be questioned for the third time as a witness in the "Cum-Ex" investigative committee of the Hamburg Parliament. Chancellor Olaf Scholz testified for the third time as a witness before the parliamentary investigative committee on the Cum-Ex scandal - what can he remember? Hamburg - Chancellor Olaf Scholz had an important appointment in Hamburg today. He was invited as a witness to the parliamentary investigative committee of the Hamburg Parliament and had to answer questions in a meeting room. This is the third time he has testified as a witness. He could not remember much of the first two times. Today he was combative: "I have campaigned for a fair tax system my entire political life." Memory gaps: Will the investigative committee on the Cum-Ex affair cost Olaf Scholz his candidacy for chancellor? The billion-dollar fraud against the German state, which is considered one of the country's biggest tax scandals, took place over ten years ago - but a full investigation is still pending. The investigative committee meeting today is intended to bring the investigation of the Cum-Ex scandal one step closer, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also questioned. The background to the affair: Between 2001 and 2016, bankers, lawyers and investors defrauded the German state through tax tricks and stock transactions. The damage to the state amounts to around 30 billion euros. Public prosecutors and courts have been investigating this case for years. An overview of the Cum-Ex affair, what it is about and what Olaf Scholz has to do with it can be found here. In the previous two investigative committees to which Olaf Scholz was invited, the investigation revolved around the fraudulent transactions of the Hamburg private bank M.M. Warburg, which earned millions of euros through cum-ex transactions by having taxes refunded that were never paid. After the case was uncovered, the bank was supposed to pay back 47 million euros to the Hamburg tax office. In November 2016, the authorities suddenly waived the payment. Particularly explosive are diary entries by Warburg co-owner Christian Olearius, who states that meetings with Scholz also covered cum-ex issues. However, Scholz could not remember this. Cum-ex scandal: Can the Chancellor remember more today? Today, Chancellor Scholz commented on further allegations relating to HSH Nordbank. The bank was also involved in cum-ex transactions and had capital gains taxes refunded in 29 cases between 2008 and 2011, even though they had never been paid. An investigation by the law firm Clifford Chance, which was commissioned by the bank itself, brought this to light. The bank reported the incidents to the public prosecutor's office and paid back around 126 million euros to the tax authorities in 2014 - it did not have to pay a fine. In 2018, HSH Nordbank was sold to US investors and renamed Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB). As the then First Mayor of Hamburg, Scholz was involved in the sales negotiations, although Hamburg, as a co-owner, could have an interest in selling the bank for the highest possible price - a Cum-Ex scandal would have been unfavorable. In addition to Scholz, the former finance senator and current mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher (SPD) and former Prime Minister Peter Harry Carstensen (77, CDU) must also testify as witnesses. Olaf Scholz's fight for a "fair tax system": Chancellor rejects influence In his appearance before the investigative committee today, the Chancellor rejects any political influence - both at the Hamburg Warburg Bank and at the HSH Nordbank. Scholz stressed on the witness stand that tax evasion and tax fraud are "not minor offenses" but "serious crimes," quoted the German Press Agency. They also show a lack of solidarity. "I have campaigned for a fair tax system my entire political life," said Scholz. For him, it is therefore self-evident that tax evasion and tax evasion models such as Cum-Ex or Cum-Cum "must be consistently investigated and prosecuted." The Cum-Ex scandal comes at an inopportune time for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as he is in the middle of an election campaign. Although no investigation is being carried out against him, he has only been called as a witness and no evidence of political influence on his part could be proven - nevertheless, his memory lapses could have a negative impact on voters. And that is exactly what Olaf Scholz needs for re-election: votes.