Dividend Tax Fraud: Breaking into the Bank of New York Mellon

The searches took place on Tuesday at the Bank of New York Mellon in Frankfurt, Bloomberg news agency reported on the basis of sources familiar with the matter. They took place on the initiative of the Cologne prosecutor’s office, which is investigating the “CumEx Files” scandal, a tax fraud on dividends.

It is an international fraud scandal, in which banks, high-profile lawyers and securities dealers have systematically evaded dividend tax and reclaimed the “surplus” of dividend tax which has often never been paid. It is considered the biggest tax scandal ever recorded in Germany. Between 2001 and 2012, an estimated 55 billion euros in the amount of fraud would have been committed. It was not only the German tax authorities that lost a lot of revenue, but also other countries, including Belgium.

The Cologne public prosecutor’s office confirmed on Tuesday that searches were carried out at bank branches and the homes of bank employees suspected of the case. More than 120 investigators have been involved in these operations.

BNY Mellon wasn’t the only target of these searches, according to Bloomberg. Investigators also reportedly visited the offices of ODDO BHF.

Before that, those of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Barclays were also reviewed in recent months.