Former German tax inspector sentenced to over 8 years in prison for one of biggest frauds in country’s history

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Hanno Berger, a former tax inspector turned legal tax expert, was sentenced on Tuesday to eight years and three months in jail by a court in Wiesbaden, as the nation comes to terms with one of its biggest post-war frauds.

Berger had already been sentenced to eight years in jail in December after a similar trial. He has been the most high-profile professional to be convicted after sprawling investigations into the cum-ex dividend stripping scheme, which some experts estimate has cost German taxpayers around $11.01 billion.

Berger, who fled to Switzerland in 2012 before being extradited to Germany in February, was accused of having caused tax damage of around 113 million euros with cum-ex transactions from 2006 to 2008.

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The public prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of 10 and a half years and the confiscation of assets.

Hanno Berger, a former German tax inspector, speaks with his lawyer before his verdict in a regional court in Bonn, Germany on Dec. 13, 2022.  (REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo)

Germany and Denmark are leading cross-border investigations into the trading scheme, which involved banks and investors claiming multiple bogus tax rebates on dividends, aided by now-closed loopholes in their tax systems and the failure of authorities to spot and halt the practice.

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Berger’s sentences follow nearly a decade of investigations that government officials say span around 1,500 suspects and 100 banks on four continents.

The scandal has sparked a public and political outcry as ordinary Germans face a cost-of-living crisis.

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Authorities have raided the German branches of companies including Barclays, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley in their investigations. All four banks have said they are cooperating with inquiries.

In September, Bank of New York Mellon Corp, Germany’s Warburg Group and Deutsche Bank said they would pay a combined 60 million euros to tax authorities over the scandal.