Photo Olaf Scholz: Frank Schwichtenberg / CC-BY-SA-3.0 / Graph: TP
SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz and Hamburg’s mayor Peter Tschentscher could have influenced decisions by the tax office in favor of the Warburg Bank. Consequences are not in sight
The Green politician Annalena Baerbock is seen by many as unsustainable for the office of Chancellor because she was too thick on her résumé. Competitor Armin Laschet (CDU) disqualified himself in the eyes of many because of his inappropriate laugh during the flood disaster in West Germany.
Surprisingly, finance minister and SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz benefits from these faux pas. And this, although he is accused of holding his hand protectively over tax evaders. Obviously, this does not detract from his popularity, and even less does it lead to calls for resignation.
It will have been a hectic day in Hamburg’s town hall, this November 9th, 2016. The mayor at the time, Olaf Scholz, was very busy, met many people and made many phone calls. Looking back, he cannot remember all of them. So understandable.
Only: How many phone calls did he make with men of the same caliber as Christian Olearius, at the time spokesman for the Warburg Bank? A long-established Hamburg company, founded in 1798 by the Jews Moses Marcus and Gerson Warbug, “aryanized” in 1941 and since 1949 family property of the Warburgs again.
The Warburg Bank – always at the service of the Senate
The bank – and with it Olearius – have repeatedly shown themselves to be loyal and reliable partners of the Hamburg Senate, not only under the leadership of the SPD.
In 1986, shortly after joining the Warburg Bank, the credit institute handled the purchase of 40,000 apartments for the then Senate under Mayor Klaus von Dohnany (SPD) from the insolvent union-owned housing association “Neue Heimat”.
When it was decided in 1995 to convert the stadium of the “Hamburger Fußballverein” (HSV) into an “Arena”, Hamburgische Landesbank and Bankhaus Warburg were entrusted with the task of checking applicants for seriousness and creditworthiness.
According to the authors of the book The power cartel – the city as prey, Jörn Breiholz and Frank Wieding, the result was a 20-page report. For that, she quotes the daily newspaper The world, the banks would each have received 1.75 percent of the contract amount as a fee.
Perhaps that played a role in the recommendation for “by far the most expensive project – Deuteron and Holzmann”.
Said offer estimated construction costs of more than 500 million D-Marks, another provider wanted to “build for 363 million Marks”, according to the authors. In addition, one of the Warburg Bank shareholders was previously managing director at Deuteron for many years.
Andreas Wankum, head of Deuteron, sat for the CDU in the tax authority, which also controlled the Hamburger Landesbank. Three years later, Deuteron was bankrupt and Phillip Holzmann had to file for bankruptcy.
According to Breiholz and Wieding, the two companies tore down smaller construction companies that had helped them build the stadium.
The example shows that Olearius, or the Warburg Bank, feels obliged not only to the SPD, but also to the Senate. When it was decided to set up a cultural monument for the city with the Elbphilharmonie, a project close to the heart of the CDU Mayor Ole von Beust, Olearius acquired donations from private entrepreneurs. In other words: man knows each other, man helps each other.
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