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CRIME

Terrified tax dodgers turning themselves in

The number of tax dodgers turning themselves in has reportedly risen dramatically in recent days, following the German government’s decision to purchase stolen bank data on secret Swiss accounts.

Terrified tax dodgers turning themselves in
Photo: DPA

Business daily the Financial Times Deutschland surveyed the country’s 16 states, which reported that the estimated back tax revenues would reach into the hundreds of millions of euros.

In the southern state of Bavaria alone, some 291 repentant tax dodgers have contacted authorities over the last week – up significantly from fewer than 20 the week before, the paper said.

Meanwhile in the port city of Hamburg the number of those trying to avoid investigation rose from 10 to 88. Fiscal authorities there told the paper they expect unpaid taxes from these cases to reach €20 million.

Authorities in the eastern state of Saxony told the paper they had fielded 174 cases in connection with the purchase of the account data, and expect €11.3 million in recovered tax revenue so far.

The state of Hesse reported 113 cases, Berlin 112, and the state of Schleswig-Holstein 36, the paper said. North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg plan to release their numbers during the coming week.

Meanwhile Rolf Schwedhelm, the lawyer of convicted tax dodger and former Deutsche Post head Klaus Zumwinkel, reported his firm had already advised more than 100 people on turning themselves in. Some clients had reported hiding sums in the double-digit millions.

In early February, Berlin said it would pay for data on some 1,500 suspected tax dodgers with funds stashed in Swiss accounts, dismissing criticism aside that the allegedly stolen material would not stand up in court.

Initially experts said the informant’s information would lead to some €100 million in recovered tax money for the country, but actual sums are now estimated at upwards of €400 million, reportedly located mainly at the Credit Suisse bank.

Government sources have said that the situation was the largest tax evasion discovery in German history.

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CRIME

Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

An aide to a German far-right politician standing in June's European Union elections has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

The man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

On the website of the European Parliament, Jian Guo is listed as an accredited assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the far-right AfD party’s lead candidate in the forthcoming EU-wide elections.

He is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Krah in Brussels since 2019.

The suspect “is an employee of a Chinese secret service”, prosecutors said.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.

“He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.”

The suspect was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday and his homes were searched, they added.

The accused lives in both Dresden and Brussels, according to broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR, who broke the news about the arrest.

The AfD said the allegations were “very disturbing”.

“As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors,” party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf said in a statement.

The case is likely to fuel concern in the West about aggressive Chinese espionage.

It comes after Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.

READ ALSO: Germany arrests three suspected of spying for China

China’s embassy in Berlin “firmly” rejected the allegations, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

According to German media, the two cases are not connected.

In Britain on Monday, two men were charged with handing over “articles, notes, documents or information” to China between 2021 and last year.

Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.

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