German authorities’ reliance on banks to police transactions when issuing certificates for tax refunds was a crucial element in the controversial Cum-Ex trades that cost the government billions of euros.
Three tax officials’ testified this week gave a Bonn court an idea of where that trust could lead. The interplay of complicated tax-collection procedures and clever trading strategies let investors dip into government coffers -- with the help of their custodian banks.
The government simply trusted the banks would handle things properly when deciding who qualified for a refund, the witnesses said at a trial of bankers accused of benefiting ...