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Banker Calls Out Barclays, ICAP Among Players in Cum-Ex Scandal

  • Main defendant in tax probe lays out list of participants
  • ‘I had to make a difficult decision,’ Shields tells judges
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A banker on trial over controversial dividend taxes in Germany used his first testimony in court to expose an array of financial institutions he said took part in the practice that has cost taxpayers billions in lost revenue.

Addressing a court in Bonn Wednesday, Martin Shields, 41, laid out the inner workings of deals known as Cum-Ex, rattling off names including Barclays Plc, TP ICAP Plc, Commerzbank AG, Sweden’s SEB AB and more than half a dozen others. Participants acted as short sellers, share lenders, prime brokers and buyers, Shields said, describing a vast network of companies, individuals and entities acting in different roles and often competing with one another.