German police raid 19 locations over tax fraud

Berlin: German prosecutors confirmed Thursday they raided 19 separate locations across the country as part of a massive investigation into so-called "cum-ex" tax fraud.

Frankfurt's public prosecutors office said 181 investigators and tax officials raided 19 offices and private homes located across the

states of Hessen, Lower Saxony, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria on Tuesday, in an operation relating to three separate cases.

The raids are linked to seven individuals suspected of fraud to the tune of 50 million euros (USD56 million) between 2007 and 2011.

So-called "cum-ex" share deals involved multiple cooperating participants exchanging stock in companies amongst themselves around dividend day.

Complex changes of ownership allowed them to claim tax rebates on a single payout several times over before sharing out the proceeds.

Used across Europe, this practice cost Germany 7.2 billion euros (USD8.2 billion), Denmark 1.7 billion and Belgium 201 million since 2001, according to an investigation published last October.

German lawyer Hanno Berger, identified as the mastermind of the scam, has been awaiting trial since last May, along with five former employees of Hypovereinsbank, a subsidiary of Unicredit.

Hypovereinsbank has already agreed to repay 113 million euros to German tax authorities and pay a fine of five million euros.