The Scholz Files: book published on chancellor's corruption scandal
The corruption scandal, which is referred to as "one of the biggest tax evasion cases of all time" and in which the German Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz is likely also involved, has gained new momentum. Scholz somehow always manages to get off the hook and avoid the investigators for a while, but as more and more evidence comes to light, the noose is tightening around the left-wing chancellor's neck.
The so-called CumEx case has been receiving a great deal of attention in the international press for years, as several countries are involved. In essence, the case is an investigation related to a tax fraud scheme. Authorities are examining a complete network of banks, stock brokers, lawyers and financial advisors.
The network defrauded billions from European treasuries by an alleged abuse of the dividend tax, as well as speculation. The countries losing the most were stripped of more than 62 billion dollars. Germany is leading the list of these countries, with more than thirty-five billion dollars lost or stolen, current data suggest.
German Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz may also be involved in the case, although somehow he always manages to get off the hook and avoid the investigators. Mr Scholz is suspected of helping Warburg Bank evade taxes while he served as the mayor of Hamburg. When the investigation against the bank began, it was headed by current mayor Peter Tschentscher. Despite the investigation and the actions of the prosecutor’s office, Hamburg paid 47 million euros in tax refunds to the bank, even though the institution was not entitled to that sum. Olaf Scholz is suspected to have known about the fraud.
Mr Scholz met the bank’s owners several times, but during the investigation he claimed that he could not remember exactly what they discussed. However, the chancellor’s memory was refreshed by a witness’s diary entry. One of the owners, Christian Olearius, wrote that Mr Scholz assured everyone that if it were up to him, Warburg Bank would be able to keep the money. The relationship between the two parties is strengthened by the fact that the bank has given a lot of money to Mr Scholz’s party, the Social Democrats – so the friendship and supposed assistance seems to have, quite literally, paid off.
For now, the investigation against Mr Scholz has drawn to a halt, but the opposition parties are demanding that authorities examine not just Olaf Scholz’s old emails, sent and received when he was mayor, but also his private correspondence in one of the biggest tax fraud cases of the last decade. According to suspicions, Chancellor Scholz had deleted e-mails and calendar entries from his office mail system.
A book has also been published about Olaf Scholz’s corruption scandal. Written by Oliver Schrom and Oliver Hollenstein, the volume titled „The Scholz Files: the chancellor, the money and the power” covers the Cum-Ex scandal and the role of Olaf Scholz and others in it. The book seeks to answer to two fundamental questions:
When Scholz was mayor of Hamburg, did he campaign for the bank to achieve a tax exemption for its owners? And: Has the incumbent chancellor intentionally deceived the parliament and the public about his role in the case in the past years?
Yeah! Die ersten gedruckten Exemplare sind da – ab dem 11. Oktober gibts die #aktescholz dann auch in den Buchläden. Und @OliverSchroem und mich dann auf diversen Bühnen. Ein Überblick: pic.twitter.com/HsmeUAHoTi
— Oliver Hollenstein (@OHollenstein) September 28, 2022
The book also came up in a debate in the German parliament. Matthias Hauer, an MP of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said that the scandal is damaging the chancellor’s credibility more and more every day, even though Germany needs a chancellor who leads the country honestly and whom people can trust. Hauer wrote:
„Whether in Hamburg or in the federal government, I expect a premier not to meet with tax criminals, not to give them any tips, but to tell them in no uncertain terms: you won’t get away with tax fraud.”
„Ob in Hamburg oder im Bund, ich erwarte von einem Regierungschef, dass er sich nicht mit Steuerkriminellen trifft, dass er ihnen keine Tipps gibt und dass er ihnen stattdessen klipp & klar sagt: ihr kommt mit eurem Steuerraub nicht ungeschoren davon”, erklärt @MatthiasHauer.
— CDU/CSU (@cducsubt) October 13, 2022
According to Albrecht Glaser, an MP of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said in parliament that respect for the state and democracy has been dwindling for years,
„and not because citizens are bad democrats, but because the political class is not doing its job.”
In all his hearings, Olaf Schoz asserted that he had no recollections of the events, so he could not answer the questions. A recent survey, however, revealed that 70 per cent of the people do not believe the chancellor. Even a majority, 56 per cent, of the Social Democrats believe that Olaf Scholz does not remember anything of the case, with only 11 per cent of Germans giving credit to Scholz’s words about the case.
The Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet also reported on the scandal.
Considering the circumstances, it is remarkable that Chancellor Olaf Scholz has met with Klara Dobrev, the wife of Ferenc Gyurcsany, the failed Hungarian left-wing prime minister. The two talked about the money due to Hungary, but withheld by the European Commission for now. According to Dobrev, an MEP of her husband’s DK party, Olaf Scholz said at the meeting that he would not make compromises regarding the rule of law and the fight against corruption. For him, it will not be enough that the Hungarian government passes through parliament legislation disguised as anti-corruption measures. He would only support the payment of EU funds if the Hungarian government can achieve real results in restoring the rule of law and curbing corruption, not only on paper, but in practice.
Mate Kocsis, the parliamentary group leader of the majority ruling party Fidesz reacted to Klara Dobrev’s post on his social media page. Kocsis wrote:
the meeting was peculiarly charming because Olaf Scholz and his government brought together the largest tax fraud scandal in German history, so if Dobrev went for corruption training, she went to the right place. In short: what the leftist German chancellor says is great, but he should first put his house in order, because as of now, he is up to his neck in corruption cases.
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