Emails from the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Scrutiny was conducted as part of the investigation related to the corruptionCumEx files“, tax evasion on dividends, reports the newspaper on Monday, August 8 Hamburg evening paper. Investigators looked into the emails, which began on January 1, 2015, when Olaf Scholz was mayor of Hamburg (North) and continued until he was appointed finance minister in the previous government in 2018. Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The CumEx scandal, a fraud first exposed in 2017, involved a clever tax optimization scheme implemented by banks that allowed foreign investors to reduce taxes on dividends. Dozens of people are being sued in Germany, including bankers, traders, lawyers and financial advisers. A total of ten countries are concerned.

“Nothing to Hide”

Among the accused banks was Hamburg’s Warburg, which was supposed to repay 47 million euros to the German port city, but which the municipality avoided in 2016. Investigators are trying to find out if political leaders – Olaf Scholz and the mayor. Pressure the municipal tax authorities to stop collecting these taxes – of the city. A parliamentary committee will again question Olaf Scholz’s role in the matter on Friday in Hamburg.

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His spokesman, Stephen Hebestreit, said Hamburg evening paper The chancellor was unaware of the inquiry into his emails and that it “There is nothing to hide“. German newspapers report that the decision to waive the reimbursement of Warburg Bank’s arrears came shortly after a conversation between then-mayor Olaf Scholz and the bank’s then-head, Christian Olearius. However, Olaf Scholz denies that he pressured the tax authorities of the city of Hamburg to abandon the collection of these taxes.