Swiss court confirms extradition of German ‘cum-ex’ fraud suspect

 

A Swiss court has allowed the extradition to Germany of Hanno Berger, a German banker accused of playing a key role in a years-long tax fraud.

The scandal, known as "cum-ex," is Germany's biggest post-war fraud involving a share-trading scheme that the authorities say cost taxpayers an estimated €400 million (CHF416 million).

According to prosecutors, the scheme was promoted by Berger, a German tax inspector-turned-tax adviser, and others.

Berger, who is a lawyer and helped represent himself, has always denied any wrongdoing in conversations with Reuters and said what he did was within the law.

His Swiss attorney was not immediately available for comment on the ruling by the Federal Criminal Court, which can be appealed to Switzerland's supreme court.

Berger, 71, was arrested in Switzerland last July based on an extradition request from Germany. The Swiss justice ministry approved his deportation a month later.

The scheme involved trading stocks of major companies rapidly around a syndicate of banks, investors and hedge funds to give the impression of numerous owners, each entitled to a bogus tax rebate.

The practice thrived between 2005 and 2012, a period that included the years after a financial crash and as banks were bailed out by the state. A loophole that fostered the trades was then closed.

The cum-ex tax fraud is the subject of multiple investigations across Germany as the government tries to claw back billions in euros it said were stolen from the state.