CUM-CUM-CUM-EX scams still cost billions in many European countries. Why can’t an end to the scandal that has been holding more than two decades? Cum -x and cum-cum tax scandals have begun to become known since 2001-and to date it is difficult to calculate the exact numbers of financial losses.

However, given the extent of fraud and what the tax authorities have discovered in various countries, the amounts must be huge-it is estimated that between 2000 and 2020 Germany lost about 29 billion euros due to the CUM-CUM fraud-which is considered the “little brother of Cum-Ex.” Worldwide losses are estimated at more than 140 billion euros.

Most striking is that these tax frauds seem to continue. But the authorities often “know nothing”, as Anne Brrohilker, a tax law lawyer, says, was not only one of Germany’s most prominent prosecutors, but also brought many CUM -X cases before justice.

She cannot yet disclose further information about the findings of the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office where she worked. However, important informants who are still working in the financial sector have testified that these frauds are continuing – and not just in Germany.

Brrochillker, who is now working on the non-profit activist Group Finanzwende (“Economic Change”), says CUM-EX practices take place in Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain and Luxembourg.

CUM-EXE AND CUM-CUM scams are feasible because there is a legal “window”, as explained by Christof Spengel, a professor at the University of Manchaim. And in order to find out exactly where the fraud is located, prosecutors must have the details of the relevant transactions in question.

Tax evasion through dividends

When German financial institutions have dividend shares, they must pay capital profits. But they can receive a tax refund if they have already paid corporate taxes.

Foreign institutions with German shares are not entitled to such a refund – and so they found a way to bypass the law. Thus, they lend their German shares for a while to a German institution, shortly before the deadline for payment of the dividends.

In return, the foreign institution charges a title lending fee. The German Foundation receives a tax refund, then returns the shares to the foreign owner and the profit from the return is shared between the foreign and the domestic institution.

The “window” is that these title lending fees are not taxed in Germany, as in many other countries-where cum-cum frauds are not taxed. And this particular “window” still exists.

An activity without risk for banks

Cum-cum transactions are not prevented and past transactions are rarely persecuted, as Brrochillker claims.

For financial institutions “this is a safe bet” – because profits are exclusively from tax arrangements and therefore “not affected by market changes”. The only risk “is to catch them. And this risk is low as the authorities do not have the right tools at their disposal. “

There are not enough experts in a position to chase those who commit financial crimes and tax offenses. In addition, the authorities do not have the appropriate materials and there is no necessary exchange of data between the authorities – and apparently not a sufficient transnational cooperation.

Why does not end to cum-ex scams

The financial industry spends a lot of money in order to influence policy -making – even at the EU level. According to Finanzwende, the industry spends about 40 million on lobbying – more than the car industry and chemical industry teams spend.

And unfortunately the lobbyists often achieve their goal, as Monica Heinold, who also works on Finanzwende, adds. She was also a finance minister in Schlesvig-Holstein, experiencing a “tense period” between 2012 and 2024-during which German prosecutors gradually revealed the extent of the CUM -X scandal.

“I saw how lobbyists are trying to influence tax legislation to their advantage and to prevent the adoption of stricter laws,” Heinold tells DW. “And unfortunately, often their requests are heard.”

There are currently 253 cases in Germany that may include such frauds, with their total value of € 7.3 billion.