Audits reveal Deutsche’s links to tax scandal
Law firm Freshfields found that some of the firm’s managers had discussed the reputational risks of the bank’s involvement in the share-trading scheme
Frankfurt — There are “lots of indications” that some managers discussed “the reputational risks” of Deutsche Bank’s involvement in a share-trading scheme that is the subject of Germany’s biggest post-war fraud investigation, according to a conclusion in one of five internal audits seen by Reuters. The bank issued tax certificates for withholding tax that had never been deducted and made loans to clients to allow them to participate in the scheme to claim tax rebates, according to the audits. German prosecutors say the scheme’s participants misled the government into thinking a stock had multiple owners on its dividend payday who were each owed a dividend and a tax credit, according to court documents. The authorities say the scheme, called “cum-ex” and involving several other global banks, cost the state €5.6bn in rebates that should not have been paid. Deutsche Bank commissioned law firm Freshfields to write the five audits as part of an internal investigation into its role in cum...
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