BNY Mellon, Warburg Group, Deutsche Bank to pay up in ‘cum-ex’ case

Bank of New York Mellon Corp, Germany’s Warburg Group and Deutsche Bank will pay 60 million euros ($60.09 million) to German tax authorities over the country’s “cum-ex” tax scandal, German daily Handelsblatt reported.

The payment covers tax liabilities of a fund called BC German Equity Special Fund, which a Warburg subsidiary managed as an investment company in 2009. The custodian bank was BHF Asset Servicing, which was later swallowed by the U.S. bank, the report said.

Deutsche Bank will contribute an amount of less than 10 million euros. A spokesman for Deutsche Bank told Handelsblatt that it was making a payment but declined to provide details. BHF earlier belonged to Sal. Oppenheim and was then taken over by the German lender.

BNY Mellon said the Handelsblatt report contains inaccuracies and false misrepresentations, while Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The share-trading scandal known as “cum-ex”, which has blighted German political and financial circles for several years, has cost taxpayers billions of euros, lawmakers claim.

A large number of banks have been searched by prosecutors investigating possible wrongdoing, with raids being conducted on the German branches of Barclays, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley in recent months.

Government officials say the investigation involves some 100 banks on four continents and at least 1,000 suspects.

($1 = 0.9985 euros)