German Tax Trial Starts With Key Figure in Scandal Missing From Proceedings
- Wiesbaden case starts without prominent tax lawyer Berger
- Trial centers on deals handled by Unicredit’s HVB in London
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Germany’s third trial over Cum-Ex opened in the city of Wiesbaden on Thursday in unfamiliar surroundings: a makeshift industrial hall erected on a deserted fairground ringed by barbed wire.
Switching from the usual wood-paneled court room to the postmodern metal-clad venue allow to uphold the required social-distancing regulation, in a case originally targeting six defendants over deals at the Unicredit SpA’s HVB investment bank unit from 2006 to 2008. The case that opened this week started with just two accused, both former HVB bankers, who are standing trial over an alleged tax damage of 113 million euros ($133 million).