Time's Up: Ex-Prosecutor Brorhilker Wants to Nip Cum-Cum and Cum-Ex in the Bud
Former Prosecutor Brohilker Urges Abolition of 'Shredder Law' - Oppose the "papering legislation": a standpoint by ex-prosecutor Brorhilker
Got a bone to pick with Anne Brorhilker? Keep her talking, as she's all about exposing financial shenanigans. During a fireside chat with the Club of Hamburg Economic Journalists, this ex-chief prosecutor hit the nail on the head, urging swift action in nabbing those who pull Cum-Cum and Cum-Ex schemes.
It's a race against the clock, Brorhilker warns. Why? The ticking of statutes of limitations and the sneaky “Shredder Law.” The latter dictates that bookkeeping records and related receipts are destroyed, all in the name of streamlining bureaucracy. But Brorhilker sees right through this guise—it's a sweetheart deal for scoundrels, not the law-abiding folks out there.
Since becoming a prosecutor, Brorhilker's tackled over a thousand cases, leaving no stone unturned, from banks and authorities to the offices of top-tier politicos. Her efforts led her to testify at the Hamburg parliamentary inquiry into the Cum-Ex scandal.
Here's the lowdown on these scams:
- Cum-Ex and Cum-Cum transactions involve rifling through tax loopholes associated with dividends, double-dipping on tax refunds, and draining governments' wallets.
- Perpetrators trick the system, earning multiple tax refunds off a single dividend payment, sometimes not even shelling out a penny in the first place.
Want to know more about these moneymaking moves? Here's a quick breakdown:
- Cum-Ex trading involves flipping shares on the ex-dividend date, a day when shares drop in value due to the upcoming dividend payout. Gotcha moment? No one's quite sure who's officially owning the shares during payout time, enabling fraudsters to claim multiple tax refunds on the same payment.
- Cum-Cum trading follows a similar playbook but uses complex arrangements to protest tax withholding fees, often through foreign investors briefly transferring shares to domestic entities to benefit from favorable tax treaties or rebates.
Translation: Banks, investors, or intermediaries are laughing all the way to the bank, leaving tax revenues in the dust.
But if Europe is to recover from these devious dealings, Brorhilker has her sights set on savings banks. Why? They've dived headfirst into Cum-Cum transactions and structured bond loans, despite their legal obligation to act in the public interest. It doesn't take a law degree to see something fishy going on there.
Brorhilker's not one to shy away from the heat, urging authorities to sniff out legal loopholes and clamp down on the destruction of evidence. Her focus? Keeping public institutions like savings banks firmly in the black and out of the compromising Cum-Cum orbit. Ain't no place in her book for skullduggery and questionable dealings—strict policies mean keeping public funds safe and healthy.
- In the heated discussions surrounding finance and business, ex-prosecutor Anne Brorhilker emphasizes the urgent need for comprehensive employment policies within public institutions, aiming to prevent potential conflicts of interest and ensuring transparency.
- As awareness about the Cum-Cum and Cum-Ex schemes continues to grow, political discourse has expanded to include proposals for enhancing community policies to curb such financial misconduct, with a particular focus on across-the-board regulation in the banking sector.
- Amidst the general-news headlines and crime-and-justice reports, finance experts across various fields are extending their discussions to encompass the importance of strong employment policies in ensuring business ethics, as perceived in Anne Brorhilker's fight against Cum-Cum and related scandals.
