Tax scandal: For the first time, a tax official involved in the Cum-ex scandal appears in the dock

The Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Cologne has raised charges against Hamburg tax official Daniela P. P is accused of having supported the Hamburg private bank M.M. Warburg in evading taxes amounting to €90 million in 2016 and 2017 by trying to prevent the repayment of the funds. This is the first time a representative of the state has to answer in court for a possible contribution to Germany's largest tax scandal.

This is stated in a 30-page court decision dated August 10. The OLG's decision is a turning point in the scandal. The Cologne public prosecutor's office had initially failed with its charges before the Bonn Regional Court. The WDR was the first to report on the decision.

The prosecutors wanted to bring P to trial along with three former bankers from M.M. Warburg. However, the Bonn Regional Court only allowed the charges against the three bankers to proceed. The trial has been ongoing since the end of March 2026. The Cologne public prosecutor's office appealed against the non-admission of the charges against P - with success.

The OLG Cologne overturned the decision with a 30-page ruling. This means that P will soon have to answer to the 15th large criminal chamber of the Bonn Regional Court.

The OLG recognizes sufficient suspicion of a crime against P. According to the OLG's assessment, there is sufficient suspicion of a crime against P. Although individual actions by the official had little weight on their own, they are reinforced by other incriminating circumstances. The evidence is complex; a final assessment must therefore be made in the main trial.

This decision is of particular importance for the investigation into the Cum-Ex affair. For the first time, a representative of the state will be sitting in the dock: so far, criminal proceedings have mainly been directed against bankers, lawyers, and stock traders who were involved in the controversial transactions.

The term Cum-Ex refers to share transactions that aimed to have non-withheld capital gains tax refunded. The damage to the German tax authorities is said to be in the billions of euros. Four men from Warburg Bank and a bank subsidiary have already been convicted of tax evasion. Christian S received the highest sentence, five and a half years in prison.

S was a close employee of the long-standing bank manager Christian Olearius. Olearius himself stood trial, but the proceedings against him were discontinued due to his inability to participate in the trial.

Olearius also plays an important role in the charges against P. The investigators base their suspicion, among other things, on seized conversation notes from the bank, Olearius' diary entries, tax documents, and numerous witness statements. The focus is on events in 2016 and 2017. At that time, the Cum-Ex transactions of the Hamburg traditional bank became public.

The responsible Hamburg tax office examined how the tax refunds of €47 million and €43 million claimed for transactions from 2009 and 2010 could be demanded back. P decided not to demand the money back. However, in 2017, the Federal Ministry of Finance intervened. Against P's will, the Hamburg tax office had to collect the taxes.

P's defense attorney Leon Kruse has so far always rejected the allegations. His client did not provide her superiors with false information. Even without her involvement, the decision of the tax authority would not have been different, the defense argues. Currently, he was not available for a statement.

Which role did Scholz and Tschentscher play? The trial is likely to be followed with tension politically. The Hamburg Cum-Ex affair had put the then First Mayor and later Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) under considerable pressure. Scholz had met with the then Warburg owner Olearius several times in his office in 2016 and 2017.

From seized diaries of the banker, it emerged that the Cum-Ex transactions were also discussed. Daniela P was employed as a department head in the Hamburg tax office for large companies in 2016, when the question arose as to whether the tax authorities in Hamburg should demand back millions in capital gains tax that had been refunded to M.M. Warburg & Co. unlawfully.

The Cologne public prosecutor's office had initiated investigations into the bank's environment at that time and had already carried out a first raid in Hamburg at the beginning of 2016. Nevertheless, according to the public prosecutor's office, P was co-responsible for Warburg being spared a tax refund of €47 million. When the decision was made at the end of 2016, the Hamburg tax official wrote a WhatsApp message to a colleague on November 17: Her "diabolical plan" had succeeded to the great joy of "5".

"So let it prescribe?", asked the acquaintance. "Yes, if nothing else comes," P replied. "5" stands for the head of the tax department of the Hamburg tax authority. Her superior: Peter Tschentscher, then Senator of Finance. When Scholz moved to Berlin, Tschentscher became his successor as First Mayor.

In later interrogations, Scholz initially could not remember having met with Olearius at all. Later, he had to admit that such meetings did take place. However, he knew nothing about the content of the conversations. He could, however, rule out any political influence on the tax proceedings, Scholz said.