Overview

• Former prosecutor Anne Brorhilker warns the incoming government to act quickly against large-scale tax fraud, citing the risk of evidence destruction starting in 2026.
• Brorhilker criticizes the previous government's bureaucratic relief law, which reduced document retention periods from ten to eight years, as a major setback in combating financial crime.
• She highlights the Cum-Ex and Cum-Cum schemes, which exploited tax loopholes to cost Germany’s treasury tens of billions of euros, as key unresolved cases requiring urgent attention.
• The new CDU-SPD coalition has pledged stronger enforcement against tax evasion, but Brorhilker remains skeptical about their commitment to delivering meaningful reforms.
• Proposed measures include a joint federal-state review framework, along with increased financial and personnel support for ongoing investigations.