The legal proceedings around Germany's Cum-Ex scandal are likely to continue for several years. The public prosecutor's office has targeted another senior manager of HSBC Germany.
The Cologne public prosecutor's office is investigating the former CEO of HSBC Germany, Carola Graefin von Schmettow, as the «Handelsblatt» (behind paywall, in German) reported on Monday. She is alleged to be guilty of serious tax evasion.
According to the report, the investigations are related to the so-called Cum-Ex transactions in which the involved parties credited themselves refunds on taxes that they never paid. Large-scale investigations are underway throughout Germany, with the first criminal verdicts already being handed down.
Von Schmettow headed the Duesseldorf-based bank, which formerly traded as HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt, from 2015 to 2021. She is the third former HSBC board member under investigation in which prosecutors suspect around two dozen former and current employees of involvement in the scheme.
Several Tax Refunds Claimed
It is alleged that shares were traded back and forth around the dividend date until it was no longer possible to determine who was entitled to a tax refund. Refunds were then paid out several times.
According to the newspaper, HSBC said it would cooperate fully with the prosecution authorities, but would not comment on details. Von Schmettow declined to answer questions.
In March 2021, it had become known that the authorities were investigating Andreas Schmitz, Schmettow's predecessor. Schmitz was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HSBC Germany until 2020 after his time as CEO and is currently President of the Duesseldorf Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Also affected by the investigations into suspected tax evasion is Paul Hagen, the current chairman of the bank's supervisory board.
