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5 ex-HypoVereinsbank staff charged in German dividend-stripping probe

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5 ex-HypoVereinsbank staff charged in German dividend-stripping probe

German prosecutors have charged six individuals, including five former bankers at UniCredit Bank AG, also known as HypoVereinsbank, for their alleged participation in a scheme to gain illicit refunds on taxes on dividends.

In an emailed statement to Bloomberg News, the Frankfurt General Prosecutor's Office said the charges relate to 61 short sales of shares of firms listed on the German benchmark DAX between 2006 and 2008. The amount of taxes on the so-called cum-ex trades, which were valued at €15.8 billion, amount to €106 million.

The charges target Paul Mora and two other London-based HypoVereinsbank investment bankers, two Germans who also worked at the UniCredit SpA unit, and tax attorney Hanno Berger, who prosecutors believe was the mastermind behind the alleged scheme, Bloomberg noted, citing a copy of the indictment.

In 2013, HypoVereinsbank commissioned a review into dividend-stripping practices. Prosecutors said the bank had already repaid the tax damage that resulted from the scheme, according to the May 22 report.