Prosecutors search Deutsche Bank headquarters in tax-linked probe

Deutsche Bank said prosecutors searched its headquarters in Frankfurt, while media reports said the probe was linked to alleged cum-cum tax avoidance.

The bank said prosecutors were carrying out measures in its offices. It said the case concerns activities at Postbank between 2008 and 2010. Deutsche Bank took over Postbank in 2010.

Deutsche Bank said it was cooperating fully with the authorities and was being investigated as a third party. Duesseldorf prosecutors said they were searching premises in Frankfurt in connection with economic and financial crimes.

Business Insider and Die Welt reported that the raid was connected to alleged cum-cum cases. Cum-cum cases involve investors temporarily transferring ownership of shares to lower-tax jurisdictions around dividend day.

The source also described earlier German tax-trade investigations. Prosecutors searched Deutsche Bank offices in Frankfurt and Eschborn in 2022 in relation to so-called cum-ex cases, which authorities treat as a more aggressive fraud. Cum-ex cases involve rapid share trading that creates confusion over ownership around dividend day, allowing multiple people to claim rebates on taxes paid only once.

In April, at least 15 people had homes or premises searched over suspected cum-ex fraud in Germany and the Netherlands. The affair has led to dozens of indictments in Germany, including bankers, stock traders, lawyers and financial consultants. Tax lawyer Hanno Berger is serving a 10-year sentence, the longest sentence handed down in the affair so far.