The Union has requested a committee of inquiry into the possible involvement of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other politicians in the tax scandal involving the Hamburg Warburg Bank. Despite a similar committee in Hamburg, there are still many open questions and contradictions, said Member of Parliament Matthias Hauer in Berlin. Scholz has so far shown no willingness to clarify.
SPD and FDP expressed legal concerns: It is questionable whether the Bundestag should be allowed to investigate this Hamburg matter at all. In addition, all questions in the committee there have long since been answered. “The CDU/CSU is not concerned with gaining knowledge, but with pure propaganda against Olaf Scholz,” criticized SPD MP Michael Schrodi.
Scholz met with Warburg co-partners
According to the will of the Union, the investigative committee should clarify whether there was political influence on the tax affair surrounding the Warburg Bank when Scholz was mayor of Hamburg. The bank was involved in the “Cum-Ex” scandal and had received a tax refund from the state that had never been paid before. The Hamburg tax authority initially refrained from recovering millions. According to a court ruling, the bank later paid all outstanding amounts.
During this time, Scholz met the bank’s co-partner, Christian Olearius, several times. After that, the refund was waived. Today’s chancellor categorically rules out any influence on the tax case. At the same time, during his two interrogations before the investigative committee of the Hamburg Parliament, he stated that he could no longer remember the conversations at the time.
SPD MP: “Who and what else do you want to ask”
In the Bundestag, too, Scholz “wobbled around” about questions, criticized Union parliamentary group leader Mathias Middelberg. SPD and FDP, on the other hand, emphasized that all relevant witnesses had already been heard in Hamburg and that all questions had been answered. “Who and what do you actually want to ask,” said Schrodi.
The Green MP Katharina Beck emphasized that the “Cum-Ex” scandal itself must be further investigated. However, hardly any gains in knowledge can be expected from a Bundestag committee. The Union is not about education, but about political motives. Left and AfD, on the other hand, support the Union’s concerns. Before the committee is finally voted on, a committee in the Bundestag is now advising on the catalog of questions presented by the CDU and CSU.
