Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALMClifford Chance Frankfurt Office Raided As Cum-Ex Investigations Continue
The firm's Frankfurt base was searched on Thursday in relation to a client's alleged historical misconduct.
March 02, 2020 at 04:48 AM
2 minute read
Clifford Chance's Frankfurt office was raided last Thursday by German authorities seeking files on a banking client that is caught up in the cum-ex tax saga.
The search and subsequent handing over of files was not against the firm itself, but rather ABN Amro, which the firm is advising in relation to cum-ex misconduct, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
ABN Amro was also searched by prosecutors on Thursday. Another person familiar with the German legal market said that Clifford Chance lawyers helped block the search of the bank in November last year, which could result in an investigation by the prosecutor against the law firm.
In a statement, a Clifford Chance spokesperson said: "We are currently helping some clients who have received legal advice from third parties in the past to work through possible cum/ex matters. We can confirm that Clifford Chance has not given any opinions endorsing cum-ex structures in the past. Nor has any public prosecutor's office ever investigated our firm for promoting cum/ex models."
"Where we represent clients in criminal proceedings, as in the case reported, we exercise our clients' rights of defence with determination. Never before have Clifford Chance lawyers been accused of attempting to obstruct justice. We consider the accusations now made by the Cologne public prosecutor's office to be wholly unjustified."
The cum-ex tax scandal has clouded German commerce for several years and centres on transactions which were allegedly used by a number of banks to claim multiple tax refunds that had only been paid to the German authorities once, before a loophole allowing such practices was closed in 2012.
Last month, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's former head of tax Ulf Johannemann had charges brought against him in relation to "serious tax evasion" for developing and advising on the so-called "cum-ex" transactions while "knowing the actual structure of the cum-ex transactions and deliberately issuing a maturity report in order to make the business seem supposedly legal".
Freshfields' Frankfurt office has been raided three times in relation to the scandal.
The Public Prosecutor's office in Cologne did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Lawyers Among Those Convicted as Hong Kong High Court Sentences 45 Activists to Prison
South Africa Regulator’s Staffing Problems Leave High-Stakes M&A Deals in Limbo
4 minute read
German Court Finds Facebook Must Pay Users for Data Breach, But Less Than Expected
Singapore Tycoon Loses Suit Against HSBC, Sentenced To Prison On Forgery Charges
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 13 New Judges: Here's Who Kemp Just Appointed to the Bench
- 2Apple Asks Judge to 'Follow the Majority Practice' in Dismissing Patent Dispute Over Night Vision Technology
- 3Texas Supreme Court to Review "Implied" Performance Controversy in Oil-Gas Leases
- 4Collections Are Critical for Texas Law Firms Through Year's End
- 5US Judge Rejects Investor Claim That Target Hid Pandemic Inventory Issues
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
