Key player in German cum-ex tax fraud arrested in Switzerland - prosecutor

Hanno Berger, a German who is accused of playing a key role in a years-long tax fraud, has been arrested in Switzerland where he had been living in exile, a spokesman for prosecutors in Frankfurt said on Friday. The scandal, known as cum-ex, is Germany's biggest post-war fraud involving a share-trading scheme that the authorities say cost taxpayers billions of euros.

Hanno Berger, a German who is accused of playing a key role in a years-long tax fraud, has been arrested in Switzerland where he had been living in exile, a spokesman for prosecutors in Frankfurt said on Friday.

The scandal, known as cum-ex, is Germany's biggest post-war fraud involving a share-trading scheme that the authorities say cost taxpayers billions of euros. According to the prosecutors, the scheme was promoted by Berger, a German tax inspector-turned-tax adviser, and others. Berger is a defendant in a case that is being tried in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt.

Berger has always denied any wrongdoing in conversations with Reuters and said what he did was within the law. Swiss authorities informed Frankfurt prosecutors of the arrest, the spokesman said, adding that it was a result of Germany's effort to extradite Berger.

The arrest was first reported by Handelsblatt.