Liechtenstein tax affair
The Liechtenstein tax affair is the largest complex of investigative proceedings for tax evasion that has been initiated in the Federal Republic of Germany to date . The LGT Bank were stolen by a former bank employees illegal bank's internal data and the Federal Intelligence Service have been offered for sale. The purchase of the data by the Federal Republic of Germany put a strain on diplomatic relations with Liechtenstein .
Origin of the data
The Liechtenstein LGT Bank confirmed that customer data was presumably sold to the Federal Intelligence Service by its ex-employee Heinrich Kieber . Kieber was first wanted by the Liechtenstein authorities at the end of the 1990s, after allegedly siphoning off checks of 600,000 Swiss francs for his private cashier in a real estate deal in Barcelona .
Heinrich Kieber was employed by LGT from April 2001 to November 2002. There he was given the task of digitizing the paper archive. Kieber allegedly copied the data illegally. However, it has not yet been conclusively clarified whether Kieber can actually be accused of data theft. Referring to the internal information of the secret service committee , the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that there had to be another source, since Kieber was released in 2002 after an initial attempt to blackmail LGT with stolen data and was sentenced to four years imprisonment by a Liechtenstein court . The German tax authorities should, however, have documents by 2005. In order to protect the actual source of the data, Heinrich Kieber could deliberately have been launched as an informant.
Initially, Kieber is said to have tried in vain to blackmail the Liechtenstein authorities. Using a false name, he first reported to the Federal Intelligence Service by email on January 24, 2006. Kieber offered the BND data on several hundred Germans who had invested money in Liechtenstein foundations. For the provision of this data he received 4.6 million euros, which are said to have been taxed at a flat rate of ten percent. These data are also said to have included those from customers in the area of organized crime , which is why Kieber is said to have received a new identity and two false passports from the Federal Intelligence Service.
On February 23, 2008, the news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the BND informant also sold the copied customer data to US authorities in the summer of 2007. The tax investigation in the USA was already active in 50 cases.
On its website, LGT details its view of how the data theft is said to have taken place in 2002, and also provides more detailed information on Mr Kieber, the alleged perpetrator who is suspected of having a new identity in Australia . Der Spiegel, however, reports that the most recent data known to the tax authorities should come from 2005, which in turn calls into question the origin of the data. Another or a different person as the informant and source of the data can not be ruled out after this report by Spiegel .
background
Foundations established under Liechtenstein law allow assets to be separated from their actual owners and thus anonymized. In contrast to the foundations of most countries, a Liechtenstein foundation can be dissolved by the founder at any time. In addition, foundations in Liechtenstein, as well as so-called domiciliary companies without their own business operations, are usually only taxed at an annual flat rate of 1,000 Swiss francs . Liechtenstein levies comparatively low taxes, which is why it is viewed by the German government as a tax haven .
A total of several billion euros in funds from hundreds of citizens resident in Germany are said to have flowed through Liechtenstein's LGT Bank and other banks, above all in foundations established under local law . According to the public prosecutor's office, these were "apparently set up solely for the purpose of tax evasion". The only question here is to what extent the source has specifically collected and collected data on incriminated funds (e.g. in connection with money laundering or tax evasion, i.e. usually illicit money ). The attempted extortion and the later sale of the data speak in favor of this. In so far as it was a question of so-called “white assets”, the data would have been extremely unsuitable for extortion and trading. A purchase of the data by foreign authorities would have been excluded from the outset.
Investigations
The affair became public knowledge on February 14, 2008 through a search of the then CEO of Deutsche Post AG , Klaus Zumwinkel . On the basis of the findings from the data CD, an investigation was conducted against him on suspicion of tax evasion. It is debatable whether the search operation was launched aware at Zumwinkel in public to those assets hidden from access of the German state in Liechtenstein, the voluntary cause. A short time later, Der Spiegel reported on the search measures carried out in Klaus Zumwinkel's house, apparently quoting from the search report as well as from the tax files.
After pressure from the German government, Zumwinkel announced his resignation on February 15, 2008. Several hundred other people have also been investigated for months. Investigations that had been kept secret until then were already published at the end of 2007 through information from an informant from LGT Bank. According to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, this informant provided the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) with a CD-ROM with burdensome bank internal information, which the Federal Intelligence Service had forwarded to the Wuppertal tax investigation office as administrative assistance .
According to the department for commercial criminal matters at the Bochum public prosecutor's office, the public prosecutor's office , which specializes in this area of offenses, was responsible for administrative assistance from the public prosecutors in Düsseldorf and Cologne , several tax investigation offices in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the criminal police in Essen - against around 600 to 700 suspects nationwide. 900 search warrants are said to have been issued and executed.
Since February 18, further raids by the tax authorities have been carried out in Hamburg , Munich , Frankfurt am Main and cities in Baden-Württemberg . In addition, branches of private and major banks: Bankhaus Metzler and Hauck & Aufhäuser , Dresdner Bank , as well as UBS in Munich and Berenberg Bank in Hamburg were searched. The tax authorities also registered an increased number of voluntary disclosures due to possible tax evasion by people with credit balances in Liechtenstein. A house search also took place at the Bavarian state data protection officer Karl Michael Betzl . Betzl then announced the temporary resignation of his official duties.
In December 2008, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Margrit Lichtinghagen, was withdrawn from the Bochum public prosecutor's office for "underhandedness". The latter then announced that it would leave the public prosecutor's service in Bochum at the end of the year at its own request.
The Italian authorities are investigating 388 people and two companies. There are 200 suspected cases in France .
According to a balance sheet by the Bochum public prosecutor's office at the end of March 2010, a total of 626 million euros were paid to the German tax authorities through voluntary disclosures by affected tax evaders in connection with the CD-ROM, of which 222 million euros directly related to the LGT, 404 million without direct connection with the Liechtenstein Princely Bank. The Bochum public prosecutor's office has also initiated 596 preliminary proceedings against LGT customers since 2008, of which 244 have so far been completed. A further 181 million euros flowed into the state treasury.
Legal issues
The purchase of the data CD put a strain on diplomatic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Both states have created different legal systems and here, due to the legal norms created, their legal systems collided , which led to intergovernmental resentment.
Since the data had obviously been obtained through criminal means, the subject of the intergovernmental discussion that was initially held was the question of whether the data could even be used in German criminal proceedings. The Liechtenstein authorities were of the opinion that the data may not be purchased or used by the Federal Republic of Germany. With this, the Liechtenstein authorities represented the thesis of the fruits of the poisoned tree , according to which the data on the CD are subject to a prohibition on recycling. In German law, however, the thesis of the fruits of the poisoned tree is fundamentally rejected, since in German law the legal security of the accused is satisfied by the prohibition of exploitation .
Another question was whether the data could be purchased or whether the data purchase would constitute a stolen property. In German criminal law, stealing is regulated in Section 259 of the Criminal Code. In the show Hart but fair, Wolfgang Bosbach was of the opinion that there was no stolen goods because the data is not a matter within the meaning of German law. According to German legal understanding, things within the meaning of § 90 BGB are only physical objects. Since the data are not physical objects, stolen goods cannot be fulfilled here either. The so-called electricity theft case required a comparable decision .
Last but not least, the question arose as to whether it was morally and ethically justifiable to purchase the data, since the Federal Republic of Germany, as a constitutional state, also had to respect its own constitutional principles. It was therefore particularly controversial how far the state could go to prosecute criminals and uncover tax sources. It was at least morally questionable whether the state could buy incriminated data and use it for prosecution.
According to the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of November 9, 2010, criminal prosecution based on the use of a purchased data CD is constitutional.
Reactions
The Principality of Liechtenstein is directly affected by the affair, as the LGT Bank is owned by the Princely Family ruling Liechtenstein. The affair was discussed during a long-planned visit by the head of government and finance minister of Liechtenstein Otmar Hasler to Berlin on February 20, 2008, during which Hasler also met with Federal Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel .
The newspaper Die Welt describes the scope of the process as a “state crisis”. The current deputy of the Liechtenstein Head of State, Hereditary Prince Alois von Liechtenstein, called the investigation a “completely insane attack” by the Federal Republic on his country and is considering taking legal action against Germany.
The Liechtenstein Chief Public Prosecutor Wallner ( Public Prosecutor's Office (Liechtenstein) ) has initiated an investigation "against unknown perpetrators because of the violation of a trade secret in favor of foreign countries". Since then, Heinrich Kieber has been searched internationally by the Liechtenstein National Police.
As a result of the Liechtenstein tax affair, loans to German museums that had already been promised by the Princely House of Liechtenstein were withdrawn by Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein. This act was justified with "questionable constitutional principles", but the German media assume that it is an expression of the resentment of the Princely House.
On the other hand, the German federal government is considering internationally coordinated actions: According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Liechtenstein lives “to a large extent from tax evasion”. Restrictions on business transactions, information requirements as well as fees for transactions and a withholding tax on payments in so-called tax havens are possible sanctions.
Chancellor Angela Merkel indirectly threatened to delay Liechtenstein's accession to the Schengen Agreement in the course of the ratification process.
Expansion of the tax scandal
The tax scandal spread internationally. As a result of further investigations, the United States, the United Kingdom , the Netherlands and Australia have initiated proceedings into possible tax evasion. It can be assumed that proceedings in Spain , France, Austria and Italy will follow. The international pressure on Liechtenstein is growing.
In June 2008, there were around 700 suspects in Germany, including 350 with the Bochum public prosecutor's office. The first case was closed in July 2008 before the Bochum regional court. The accused was a real estate agent from Hesse , who is said to have invested a total of eleven million euros in foundations between 2001 and 2006 and not to have taxed the income. The accused real estate agent was sentenced to a suspended sentence and a fine of 7.5 million euros.
On July 31, 2008, the Austrian magazine Format also announced the names of prominent people who evaded taxes for the first time. The German tax investigation department has around 180 data records from Austrians (including 40 percent from Vienna and 20 percent from Vorarlberg ) who are involved in the LGT Bank data affair. The Austrian tax investigation announced that numerous celebrities had already filed voluntary reports before April 14, 2008. Critics accuse the Treasury of having delayed the process in order to give celebrities more time to report themselves.
According to information from the Frankfurter Rundschau , since August 1, 2008 , the Rostock Regional Court has had around 1850 receipts from accounts of German citizens at the Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB), which were presented by the defense during the trial for extortion worth millions. Four defendants are said to have illegally procured around 2,500 accounts from the LLB and tried to blackmail the Landesbank with them in July 2005. For image reasons, the bank agreed to the deal with the extortionists and paid around nine million euros in a first installment for the release of the data. The co-defendant Michael F. from Rostock was arrested in Germany when he tried to fly to Thailand with 452,000 euros in his luggage . The arrest and the discovery of money started the prosecution's investigation.
Web links
- Presentation of the Liechtenstein tax affair from the point of view of Heinrich Kieber: Der Fürst. The thief. The data. (PDF; 5.7 MB)
Individual evidence
- ^ Scandal of gigantic proportions , Süddeutsche Zeitung , online edition, February 15, 2008
- ↑ The man who stole the tax data Handelsblatt, February 25, 2008
- ^ Annette Ramelsberger: The second man , Süddeutsche Zeitung, February 25, 2008
- ^ Heinrich Kieber, the informant Hamburger Abendblatt, February 25, 2008
- ↑ http://www.ftd.de/politik/:bnd-informant-verkaufte-auch-an-usa/321604.html ( Memento from July 31, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ LGT February 24, 2008: Illegally passed on data is limited to the LGT Treuhand customer data stolen in 2002 ( Memento from May 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Spiegel Online: Investigators have appeased data up to 2005 - Liechtensteiner Fürstenbank
- ↑ Eduard Gürhoff, Chief Investigator at the Bochum Public Prosecutor: "It looks as if not only one bank is affected," quoted from: Another bank involved in Liechtenstein tax affair: "It'll pop again next week" , Handelsblatt .com, February 15 2008
- ↑ Investigations into hundreds of cases of possible tax evasion ( Memento of March 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), AFP news agency , February 15, 2007, accessed 16:30.
- ↑ Frank Dohmen, Ulrich Jaeger, Dirk Kurbjuweit, Gunther Latsch, Alexander Neubacher, René Pfister, Christian Reiermann, Barbara Schmid, Jörg Schmitt, Holger Stark: Der Schatz des BND . In: Der Spiegel . No. 8 , 2008, p. 20-33 ( Online - Feb. 18, 2008 ).
- ↑ Zumwinkel confesses and goes ( memento of February 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), boerse.ard.de , February 15, 2008
- ↑ Suspected disclosure of stolen customer data from LGT Treuhand AG in Vaduz in 2002 ( memento of February 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), LGT Group press release, February 15, 2008
- ^ Germany before historical tax scandal , FAZ , online edition, February 15, 2008
- ↑ http://www.sta-bochum.nrw.de/lösungen/index.php
- ^ Spiegel Online: Investigators are again searching banks in Munich and Hamburg
- ^ Raid on German private banks ( Memento from June 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Spiegel Online: Bavaria's top data protection officer is suspending business due to a tax affair
- ↑ ftd.de: Public Prosecutor in War ( Memento from June 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), December 15, 2008.
- ^ Spiegel.de: Public prosecutor Lichtinghagen becomes judge , December 15, 2008.
- ↑ süddeutsche.de Italian justice investigates 390 suspected cases in tax affair Article of March 26, 2008, accessed on April 7, 2010.
- ↑ süddeutsche.de: "Liechtenstein CD gives the state 807 million euros" article from 6./7. April 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
- ↑ hartaberfair.de: Hard but fair: Bank robbery on Switzerland - what is allowed in the fight against tax evaders? Broadcast from February 3, 2010 ( Memento from February 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ hartaberfair.de: Fact check ( Memento from August 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ BVerfG, 2 BvR 2101/09, decision of November 9, 2010
- ↑ Liechtenstein's reputation is ruined , Welt Online, February 15, 2007
- ↑ Press and Information Office of the Principality of Liechtenstein: Prime Minister Otmar Hasler with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel ( Memento from March 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ According to government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm Germany before mass raids for tax evasion February 15, 2008,
- ↑ Post boss Zumwinkel resigns under pressure from politics on February 15, 2008
- ↑ Thousands of Suspects in Tax Scandal , Welt Online , February 15, 2007
- ↑ Liechtenstein attacks Germany in the tax affair
- ^ Tax affair: Liechtenstein attacks German investigators - Die Presse February 19, 2008
- ^ Profile of Heinrich Kieber ( Memento from March 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Official announcement of the Liechtenstein Princely House ( Memento of November 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Report from the Stern Highness is angry ( Memento from January 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Spiegel Online: Berlin wants to radically restrict business with Liechtenstein
- ↑ Spiegel Online: Federal government tackles Liechtenstein - Principality is fighting for its reputation as a tax haven
- ^ Report by Deutsche Welle | Deutsche Welle
- ↑ FAZ: Tax scandal reaches more and more states
- ^ Report from the Süddeutsche Zeitung
- ^ Report in the Austrian economic newspaper ( Memento from January 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ WDR: 700 accused in Liechtenstein tax affair ( Memento from June 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ First litigation regarding Liechtenstein foundations ( memento of August 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Tagesanzeiger (Zurich), July 18, 2008
- ↑ a b ftd.de: Investigators discover 1850 secret accounts ( Memento from March 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Prominent Austrians on Liechtenstein CD
- ^ First local names of the Liechtenstein CD known Oe24 online, July 31, 2008