Tax Fraud Deals Were Easily Discernible, Banker on Trial Says
- Pricing, volumes showed deals weren’t based on real dividends
- Second day of testimony of prime defendant in Bonn tax trial
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A former investment banker on trial in Germany said nearly everyone in the financial industry was able to spot the controversial tax-driven deals that cost taxpayers billions in lost revenue.
Addressing a court in Bonn, Martin Shields said the profit expectation, pricing and volumes of securities traded in so-called Cum-Ex deals allowed market participants to see these weren’t the arbitrage deals based on real dividend payments. Such profits couldn’t have been made without a refund claimed in Germany for tax payments that in reality never happened, he said.