Dividend-Tax Trades Were Criminal Act and ‘Blatant’ Money Grab, Court Says
- Ruling followed appeal in first court case in Bonn last year
- Controversial dividend paybacks likely cost taxpayers billions
The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Photographer: Uli Deck/AFP/Getty Images
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The Cum-Ex trading practice blamed for costing German taxpayers billions of euros was illegal and can be punished as crimes, the country’s top criminal court ruled.
In the first case about the controversial tax strategy to reach the top tribunal, the Federal Court of Justice backed the conviction last year of two former London investment bankers, according to the verdict Wednesday in Karlsruhe. The judges also upheld the seizure of 176 million euros ($208 million) from M.M. Warburg Group, the profit that the private lender made from these transactions.