Senior Partner Aziz Rahman tells Law 360 that the orchestrators of Cum-Ex schemes are in the prosecutors’ sights as much as the investors.

With the Cum-Ex dividend stripping scandal showing no signs of abating, Rahman Ravelli’s Aziz Rahman told Law 360 that the orchestrators of the schemes are likely to come under as much scrutiny as those who invested in them. Investigations are now being carried out into activities that are believed to have affected over a dozen countries and involved tens of billions of euros. 

Exactly how long the probes will take will depend on what evidence of wrongdoing is found and what action is then taken. Two British investment bankers have already been convicted in relation to Cum-Ex and given suspended sentences - with one ordered to pay €14 million - and Frankfurt prosecutors have announced that they have charged a lawyer with three counts of abetting serious tax evasion in connection with Cum-Ex. Aziz told Law 360 that the authorities’ intention to hold the engineers of such schemes to account is a stern reminder to corporate tax practices of the need to be completely legally compliant. 

The full Law 360 article can be read here. (Subscription required)