The Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office is reportedly planning to transfer the investigation into the HSH Nordbank case to the judiciary in Hamburg. This move is according to reports published by the “Handelsblatt”, which cites various judicial sources.
The criminal proceedings have been in place since 2018, focusing on allegations of severe tax evasion linked to Cum-Ex schemes-which involve the systematic over-refund of capital gains taxes. To date, the Cologne authority has initiated investigations against 26 individuals specifically regarding the HSH Nordbank.
The reason cited for the planned transfer is that the Cologne prosecutors no longer deem themselves the appropriate authority to handle the case. The initial trigger for these investigations was an internal report from a law firm. This report documented alleged tax evasion by HSH Nordbank between 2006 and 2011, amounting to at least 112 million Euros.
While this particular case remains geographically linked to Cologne, the overall investigation scope is substantial. According to the “Handelsblatt”, the prosecutors in both Cologne and Hamburg declined to comment. Overall, the Cologne jurisdiction is currently handling a total of 138 Cum-Ex investigations involving 1,762 suspects.
