BERLIN: The German chancellor Olaf Scholz, will be questioned once more on Friday in Hamburg by a state legislative committee looking into the massive "Cum-Ex" trading operation to mislead tax authorities.

As per reports, during the "Cum-Ex" affair, traders in Europe used a legal loophole to quickly transfer shares between parties at the time dividends were given out to collect tax refunds for taxes they had not paid. In Hamburg, the question of whether Scholz or other influential Social Democrats used their position to prevent Warburg Bank from having to repay 47 million euros in taxes is the centre of attention.

Scholz, who denies using his office to help the private Hamburg-based lender that partakes in the Cum-Ex scheme, has been shadowed by the affair that dates back to his time as mayor of the northern city.

Three meetings between Scholz and the co-owners of the Warburg Bank, Max Warburg and Christian Olearius, took place in 2016 and 2017. The Hamburg Parliament's Parliamentary Investigation Committee is interested in learning more about these meetings.
During his first interrogation, Scholz acknowledged the encounters but claimed he could no longer recall their details.
In accordance with Olearius' evidence, Scholz had advised sending a letter of defence to Hamburg's then State Minister of Finance Peter Tschentscher following the initial meetings, in which it was claimed that the recovery of 47 million euros in incorrectly returned capital gains tax was unjustified.

Tschentscher, who is now the mayor of Hamburg, forwarded the letter to the tax authorities with a "request for information on the status of circumstances," and a short while later, contrary to initial plans, it was decided to allow the 47 million euro claim to be dropped due to a statute of limitations.

The letter's transmission has been confirmed by Tschentscher, who is a Social Democrat of the center-left. However, he described the accusation of influence as "baseless".

Finland pushes for European Union entry ban on Russian tourists

Ethiopia House of Fed mulls referendum to create 12th region

Jinping and Putin are expected to attend the G20 summit in Indonesia