The mastermind of tax-saving products which were ruled illegal, has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a German regional court.
The Regional Court of Wiesbaden has sentenced the key person in the cum-ex tax scandal, Hanno Berger, to a total of eight years and three months in prison, as the news wire «AWP» reported Tuesday.
The court ruled that he was guilty of three counts of tax evasion. In addition, criminal proceedings of almost 1.1 million euros are to be confiscated from Berger's assets, the report said. It is likely that Berger will appeal the court's decision.
Berger is considered to be the driving force behind so-called cum-Ex deals, which were widespread in Germany between 2006 and 2011.
Tax Optimization
The deals involved wealthy clients moving shares with (cum) and without (ex) dividend rights at and around the ex-date back and forth in quick succession. As a result, German tax authorities lost track of who was the actual owner of the stock and are said to have missed out on at least ten billion euros in tax revenues.
As an independent tax lawyer, Berger presented cum-ex deals to banks and wealthy individuals as legally safe tax optimization deals. He is said to have earned at least 50 million euros with them himself.
The Attorney General's Office demanded a prison sentence of ten years and six months for three counts of serious tax evasion. In December, the Bonn Regional Court sentenced Berger to eight years in prison for tax evasion. However, after Berger appealed to the Federal Supreme Court, the verdict has not been finalized.
Domiciled in Switzerland
Berger evaded German justice for years by fleeing to Switzerland. He was eventually extradited to Germany in February 2022. As part of the investigation, Berger's house in Zuoz, Grisons, where he lived with his wife, was searched.
