The case — which dates back over five years to the time when Scholz was still mayor of the Hamburg city-state — is linked to the broader so-called “Cum Ex” affair, under which the German state was defrauded by over €30 billion as some banks, companies, or individuals claimed tax reimbursements from authorities for alleged costs that never occurred. The scandal already hung over the Social Democratic politician’s election campaign in 2021 but had little impact in the end as Scholz’s potential involvement remained unclear. Now it is heating up again after new details emerged that put his previous defense in question.

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-chancellor-olaf-scholz-parliament-investigation-tax-fraud-scandal-hamburg-cum-ex/

‘Cum-Ex’ is Latin - and it means ‘with without’. In essence, it’s a massive stock trading scam by bankers, brokers, hedge funds, international tax firms, investment companies, lawyers and insurance companies. By acting as promoters to help their clients get a refund for a tax they never actually paid for, they have defrauded EU member states by billions of euros. This rapid trading of shares with (cum) and without (ex) dividend rights thus gave rise to the scandal of the same name.