German Chancellor rejects allegations of involvement in tax evasion

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during a hearing before the Senate investigative committee in Hamburg on Friday, once again dismissed responsibility regarding the tax evasion scandal involving Hamburg's private bank Warburg.

„I had no influence whatsoever on the events related to the tax complaint against Warburg bank“, said Scholz (SPD).

In his repeated testimony before the investigative committee of the Senate of the city-state of Hamburg, he denied that politics had any influence on the events surrounding the penalty for tax evasion in the case of the private bank Warburg.

The investigative committee has been trying for two years to answer the question of whether high-ranking officials of the city of Hamburg attempted to influence the private bank Warburg to avoid returning improperly paid taxes to the state, which financial authorities had paid out in the so-called „cum-ex“ scandal, where banks helped their clients evade taxes on dividend income.

Specifically, it concerns several meetings between Chancellor Scholz and representatives of Warburg bank in 2016 and 2017, when Scholz served as mayor of Hamburg.

„There is not the slightest indication anywhere that any negotiations took place between the leadership of Hamburg and the private bank“, he said, pointing out that the bank later paid the penalty in full and that the city of Hamburg „suffered not the slightest damage“.

Scholz expressed hope that after this testimony, „the accusations that are not based on facts will cease“.

Earlier, the opposition criticized Scholz's handling of this scandal and expressed doubt about the chancellor's credibility.