Ex-CEO At Deutsche Post On Tax Evasion Charge - Report

Tom Burroughes

7 November 2008

The former chief executive officer of Germany's Deutsche Post has been charged with tax evasion, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung has reported.

Klaus Zumwinkel, who resigned his position earlier this year after Bochum prosecutors opened an investigation against him, is accused of avoiding €1.2 million ($1.53 million) in taxes according to the charges, the newspaper said.

Bochum prosecutor's spokesman Eduard Gueroff said Mr Zumwinkel would be charged, but he was not available for comment.

A spokesman for Mr Zumwinkel's attorney could also not immediately be reached.

Mr Zumwinkel is the highest profile suspect in an investigation of tax evasion by German citizens using banks in the tiny tax haven of Liechtenstein. The case has raised the spotlight on such jurisdictions and the ethics of using stolen bank data as a source for investigating alleged tax evaders.

Tax officials and prosecutors started conducting raids inside Germany in February this year after the country's intelligence service paid an informant as much as €5 million ($6.38 million) for a CD-ROM containing hundreds of names of people suspected of evading taxes by putting money in foundations in Liechtenstein.

In July, prosecutors said they had already recovered €110 million ($140.47 million) in back taxes.

At that time, they said 350 cases were under investigation and authorities are weighing investigations against another 420 people.