Share this...



Some of Germany’s leading media outlets are reporting that 500 German police officers and tax authorities raided mighty Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt earlier today. According to Die Welt here, five managers have been linked to a scam involving the trading of carbon permits. Arrest warrants have been issued. Also see Reuters here.

500 police officers raid, investigate Deutsche Bank for tax evasion surroundiung carbon trading. Photo source: Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

No wonder Deutsche Bank had always been such an active proponent of global warming and the emissions trading scheme. There was lots of easy cash to be made! Gee, I wonder at whose expense?

Die Welt writes:

Hundreds of police officers marched into the twin towers of Deutsche Bank, more than 20 police vehicles were parked in front of the high-rises and other office buildings. At times staff were not even permitted to use the elevators. Eight police officers were posted in the entrance with large caliber guns in reach.”

This is not the first time DB has been investigated for tax evasion involving the trade of carbon emission permits. Investigations were conducted in 2010. There have been other raids. Die Welt writes:

Indeed it became clear that the affair has reached a new level of escalation today.”

The alleged scam is not isolated to the lower or midde management levels, but reaches the very top. Deutsche Bank co-chief executive Juergen Fitschen is also the focus of the widening carbon trading tax evasion probe.

Also Reuters here writes:

Prosecutors said they were investigating 25 bank staff on suspicion of severe tax evasion, money laundering and obstruction of justice, and searched the headquarters and private residences in Berlin, Duesseldorf and Frankfurt.”

Reuters adds that back in October a German judge had sentenced six men to jail. “He stopped short of prosecuting Deutsche Bank staff but noted that the bank – through its conduct – had left the door open for tax evasion.”

Today 500 authorities used that open door. Obviously German authorities feel the carbon trading scam is much broader in scope.

A ring of traders was accused of participating in a conspiracy to evade around 300 million euros in value-added tax (VAT) on carbon permits between August 2009 and April 2010.”

According to the nwzonline.de, Judge Martin Bach sharply criticized Deutsche Bank for the trading that took place in European foreign countries, and thus evading tax obligations.

All that is left now is for the government to expand the investigation to include the scam that is “man-made global warming”.