Investigation investigates how Olaf Scholz acted to combat the scheme during his time as mayor of Hamburg
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to testify at the Hamburg Legislature this Friday (19.Aug.2022). He will talk about his role as the city’s mayor from 2011 to 2018 in fighting a multi-billion euro tax fraud. The information is from Reuters.
The case threatens to politically weaken the chancellor as Scholz tries to keep his coalition together. There is discontent among Germans with rising energy prices.
The investigation is centered on the local bank Warburg. The institution is suspected of carrying out transactions to avoid taxes or receiving unauthorized tax refunds. According to the news outlet, trading was carried out on the day that dividends would be paid, omitting share ownership and allowing various parties to claim tax rebates on those dividends.
After intervention by the federal Ministry of Finance, the bank paid around €50 million in back taxes.
The investigation is now looking into whether the city of Hamburg was slow to demand the reimbursement of millions of euros earned from the scheme by Warburg.
Scholz denies any impropriety in handling the case. According to him, “countless files have been studied, countless people have been heard” and “the result is always: there was no political influence”.
The chancellor has already faced Hamburg lawmakers in 2021. He acknowledged that he had a series of meetings with the then president of Warburg, but said he does not remember details of what was discussed.
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