Nomura Frankfurt offices raided as part of Cum-Ex probe

NOMURA Holdings’ Frankfurt offices are being raided as part of a vast German probe into the Cum-Ex tax dividend scandal that’s ensnared many of the world’s top banks.

Cologne-based prosecutors said they are probing 37 current or former employees at an unidentified Asian lender in relation to Cum-Ex, and have also raided homes of suspects. About 80 law-enforcement officers are involved.

A German spokesman for the bank confirmed that prosecutors attended Nomura’s offices in Frankfurt in connection with an investigation into historic transactions in German stock around the dividend record date. The company is cooperating, he said.

Cum-Ex was a trading strategy across Europe that syphoned off billions of euros in government revenue by taking advantage of tax laws that seemed to allow multiple investors to claim refunds of a tax on dividends that was paid only once. Germany moved to abolish the practice in 2012.

While dating back more than a decade, the scandal is still roiling the financial industry. Prosecutors in Cologne are investigating about 1,600 people and are ramping up the pressure on international banks. A long line of institutions were targeted by officials in recent months, including BNP Paribas, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, and Barclays. BLOOMBERG