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Former SPD member of the Bundestag Johannes Kahrs
Photo: Jürgen Heinrich / IMAGO
Officials of the State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia and representatives of the Cologne public prosecutor's office searched the house of the former SPD member of the Bundestag Johannes Kahr and offices in the Hamburg tax office for large companies.
The »Handelsblatt«, the »Bild« newspaper and the »Kölner Stadtanzeiger« had reported on it first.
Kahrs and two other people are being investigated on suspicion of beneficiary.
According to the public prosecutor's office, there are indications that the accused have behaved in connection with the cum-ex deals of a Hamburg credit institution in a “criminally relevant” manner.
According to the “Kölner Stadtanzeiger”, it is the private bank MM Warburg.
Affected by the investigation is, in addition to a department head at the tax authorities, the former Hanseatic SPD interior senator Alfons Pawelczyk.
You could not be reached for a comment at short notice.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the premises were searched in order to secure "documents relevant to evidence" and "communication relevant to evidence".
The public prosecutor did not provide any further information "with a view to the ongoing investigations" and "with regard to the allegation of tax evasion on which the overall facts are based".
The investigations of the public prosecutor's office are about dubious transactions of the Hamburg private bank MM Warburg.
The long-established bank had wrongly obtained tax credits for years with share deals, the cum-ex deals.
In 2016, the tax office for large companies wanted to reclaim taxes from the bank, including 47 million euros from credits for 2009. If 2009 is waived, the statute of limitations will expire at the end of the year, according to the office.
The tax authorities, whose head was the current Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher at the time, initially refused to approve.
Finally, the tax office waived the repayment at the end of the year.
Now the investigators are checking whether Kahrs and Pawelczyk have used their influence in favor of the bank.
What is certain is that the two politicians met with the then MM Warburg boss Christian Olearius and also brokered talks between the bankers and SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz.
In the Hamburg committee of inquiry into the Cum-Ex affair, Scholz denied that there was political influence on the tax office.
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