Cum-ex: German tax case could ripple through the finance industry

In cum-ex trades, shares with and without dividend rights were quickly traded between various market participants just before the payout date for the dividend, allowing traders to reclaim double the taxes...

The cum-ex deals orchestrated by the two British bankers on trial in Bonn eventually led to a tax loss of 400 million euros ($443 million).

However, the wider scheme carried out in the first decade of the 21st century, and unearthed in 2017, is thought to have cost state coffers across Europe, including at least 10 countries outside Germany, over $60 billion.

Nearly 500 cum-ex deals worth around 5.5 billion euros are being investigated in Germany, according to the German Finance Ministry. Around 2.4 billion euros has already been recovered by the tax authorities.