Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is being sued for €95 million over advice it gave to the German arm of Canadian-headquartered Maple Bank.

The bank's administrator, CMS German partner Michael Frege, has brought the claim regarding tax opinions given by Freshfields to Maple Bank prior to its collapse in 2016.

The claim relates to advice given regarding so-called 'cum-ex' transactions, which were allegedly used by a number of German banks to claim multiple refunds of tax that had only been paid to the German authorities once. A loophole allowing such practices was closed in 2012.

Maple Bank's German arm collapsed when its financial position became unstable after it had to pay back unpaid taxes. German authorities have been investigating the wider scandal for several years, raiding Freshfields' Frankfurt office twice in relation to the issue. 

In a statement, a Freshfields spokesperson said: "We are examining the statement of claim in detail and will fully defend ourselves. We do not see any basis for claims against our firm."