Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's head of international tax Ulf Johannemann has left the firm.

Frankfurt-based Johannemann had been investigated in relation to a long-running tax scandal, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

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

Earlier this year, Freshfields was sued for €95 million over advice it gave to to the German arm of Canadian-headquartered Maple Bank regarding the issue.

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 three times in relation to the issue.

In August, the Magic Circle firm settled the claim. The bank's liquidator, Michael Frege, announced at a Maple Bank creditors' meeting that he had settled his claim against Freshfields, recovering €50 million ($55.3 million) for creditors

A Freshfields spokesperson said in a statement to Legal Week: "We can confirm that Ulf Johannemann has retired from the partnership."

With reporting by Krishnan Nair.