BERLIN, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Further properties were searched as German authorities continued their investigations into what might become the biggest tax fraud in German history, the general prosecutor office Frankfurt announced on Tuesday.
The suspects whose properties were searched are accused of having made cum-ex transactions with an "investment volume in the three-digit million range" in 2008 and 2009, according to the general prosecutor office.
The current investigation was centered on six men aged between 50 and 57. The general prosecutor office told Xinhua that five of the suspects were German nationals, while the nationality of the sixth suspect had "not yet been clarified".
On Tuesday, the general prosecutor office Frankfurt and local tax investigators searched a total of 12 properties across Germany, including seven apartments and five business premises of various companies.
At the same time, an apartment in the Netherlands was searched by Dutch forces, according to the general prosecutor office.
A total of 53.3 million euros (59 million U.S. dollars) tax refunds was paid to the suspects on the basis of false certificates, the general prosecutor office stated. However, the unlawfully paid tax refunds had already been repaid to the German tax authorities.
Cum-ex deals took advantage of a legal loophole that enabled participants to obtain multiple refunds on a tax that was only paid once and was finally closed in Germany in 2012.
