Cum-Ex's Light Sentence for Mastermind: "Cum-Ex King" Kai-Uwe Steck's Stolen Millions Remain Missing
Stolen Million-Dollar Haul from Cum-Ex Crown Primarily Recovered
Get the latest update on the most significant Cum-Ex trial happening in Germany right now - the verdict for Kai-Uwe Steck, one of the central figures in the billion-dollar Cum-Ex tax scam, has been handed down. Everyone was waiting for this verdict to see what awaits potential witnesses. Steck allegedly caused a whopping 428 million euros in damage.
Cum-Ex is the name of the illegal stock transactions that enabled clever investors to claim multiple tax refunds, scamming the government out of billions. They'd buy stocks just before the dividend record date and sell them shortly after. Using these transactions, investors could, with the help of banks and funds, repeatedly claim the one-time paid capital gains tax. The profits were then shared among the participants. Germany's highest courts have already deemed these transactions illegal, but experts like former chief prosecutor Anne Brorhilker estimate that they continue to this day.
Economy - "The State is Still Being Ripped Off" Steck mastered these deals alongside his mentor and business partner, Hanno Berger, a former tax official. Together, these two men created a business model that worked well for them in the 2000s. Steck reportedly made 50 million euros through this scheme, but there's no trace of the money. He had actually promised to repay it during the trial against Berger at the end of 2022. However, while Berger went to prison, the state is still waiting for the repayment from Steck.
According to the Bonn Regional Court, Steck has so far only returned 11 million euros, with 39 million euros still outstanding. Therefore, the trial also involves Steck's credibility. The outstanding financial compensation was likely one of the reasons why chief investigator Brorhilker brought charges of aggravated tax evasion against Steck in her final months in office. The trial began in November 2024. The public prosecutor's office demanded a prison sentence of three years and eight months for Steck, confiscation of 26 million euros of his assets, and a temporary ban on practicing his profession for four years.
Millions Hard To Recover
Recovering the millions won't be simple. Investigations by "WDR" and "Süddeutsche Zeitung" have revealed that companies in which Steck is believed to have invested his ill-gotten gains have been bankrupt since 2023. However, it wasn't until February 2025 that Steck admitted to the Bonn Regional Court that this alleged wealth had been lost.
Steck comes from a humble background, is a lawyer himself, and has been working mainly in international banking and capital market law since 2001. He lists international law firms in Frankfurt, New York, and London as his professional stations. In 2010, he moved to Switzerland, where he has been based since. Steck can't keep his mouth shut - he recently spoke about his involvement in the Cum-Ex fraud in a ZDF documentary.
Economy - "Tax Losses from Cum-Cum Deals: How Banks and Investors Cheat the German State" In 2017, the first investigations by Brorhilker began. "Through her questioning, we were able to reach other insiders who had worked for years at major international investment banks," Brorhilker told Capital in an interview. "One of them [the informant; Ed. note] told us he was hired specifically to exploit the tax systems of different countries against each other. He was given a handbook with virtually the best 100 tax tricks, and he was tasked with developing it further."
€853,413,858.49 Recovered So Far
Since 2019, Steck has testified as a witness in nearly a dozen criminal trials, leading to convictions for several defendants. Steck is considered a reliable witness, according to his lawyer Gerhard Strate. "The reliability of our client's statements has not been questioned by any court up to now, but has been explicitly confirmed by virtually every verdict," said Strate. According to him, Steck's statements have recovered 853,413,858.49 Euros for the state.
However, this doesn't guarantee him immunity. Informants don't automatically avoid punishment if they're willing to testify against other suspects. Steck has insisted on immunity in the past, which Brorhilker denies. The status of an informant can, however, bring considerable advantages for the individual concerned.
The verdict suggests that Steck's cooperation with the prosecutor's office has certainly brought him something. The presiding judge, Sebastian Hausen (Case No. 62 KLS 1/24), sentenced him to one year and ten months in prison for severe tax fraud in five cases, suspended on probation. In addition, the court ordered the seizure of approximately 24 million Euros. Steck's lawyer argued for the proceedings against the accused to be dropped.
- Cum-Ex Transactions
- Courts
- Banks
- Tax Evasion
In light of the verdict, the community is left questioning the effectiveness of vocational training programs for bank employees, given the key role they played in facilitating Cum-Ex transactions. The missing millions, once presumably used for various business ventures, further highlights the need for stricter financial regulations to prevent tax evasion and ensure the integrity of vocational training in the financial sector.
