CumEx Files: europska suradnja o poreznim povratima

The CumEx Files are a series of collaborative investigations into dividend-arbitrage transactions, tax refunds and the movement of public money across European borders. The reporting was coordinated by CORRECTIV and produced with international media partners. It examined how trading structures around the date on which shares are traded without their dividend could make it difficult for tax authorities to determine whether withholding tax had actually been paid once, several times or not at all.

What the first CumEx Files investigation reported

The first CumEx Files investigation was published in October 2018. CORRECTIV reported that dividend-arbitrage transactions known as Cum-Ex and related arrangements had affected public finances in several European countries. According to the investigation, documents, data and expert analysis indicated that the potential losses could amount to at least €55.2 billion across 11 countries over a period of roughly 15 years.

The reporting described a market practice built around the timing of share trades and dividend payments. In a typical Cum-Ex arrangement, shares were traded around the dividend record date. The structure could leave tax authorities facing several claims for a withholding-tax credit even though the tax had been paid only once, or where the documentation did not clearly establish that the tax had been paid. The precise structures varied between transactions and jurisdictions.

CORRECTIV presented the figures as estimates based on available records and calculations, not as a final accounting by every affected state. The investigation also distinguished between different forms of dividend-arbitrage trading. The label “Cum-Ex” is often used broadly in public discussion, although later reporting and legal proceedings examined a range of transactions with different technical features.

How the later publications expanded the picture

Later reporting did not simply repeat the first estimate. CumEx Files 2.0, published in 2021 by CORRECTIV with Paper Trail Media and international media partners, examined additional documents, data and cases. It broadened the investigation to other forms of dividend-related tax trading and reported a much higher potential scale of public losses when the wider group of transactions and countries was taken into account.

The later investigation also focused more strongly on the networks surrounding the transactions: banks, investment firms, advisers, lawyers, intermediaries and public authorities. Its purpose was to document how the arrangements were organised and how information moved across borders. The existence of a professional or financial relationship mentioned in the reporting does not by itself establish that every person or institution involved committed an offence.

The difference between the first and later publications is therefore important. The 2018 investigation established a cross-border public-interest story and gave a widely cited estimate for a defined set of countries and years. The later work added new material, examined additional structures and reassessed the possible overall scale. These figures should not be combined without checking the methodology, time period, countries and transaction types used for each calculation.

The European context

Dividend taxation is organised through national laws, while securities trading, financial institutions and ownership structures operate across borders. That combination created a central challenge for investigators and tax authorities: records held in one country could be relevant to a tax claim made in another, while the legal and administrative rules were not identical.

The CumEx Files showed why international data sharing and cooperation between journalists became significant. CORRECTIV worked with media organisations in several European countries, comparing court records, company documents, transaction data and interviews. The collaboration allowed local reporters to examine national consequences while contributing to a common picture of a cross-border market.

Public authorities in a number of countries subsequently investigated dividend-arbitrage transactions. In Germany, the Federal Court of Justice ruled in 2021 that certain Cum-Ex transactions constituted tax evasion. That ruling concerned the cases before the court and the legal questions presented in those proceedings; it should not be treated as a determination about every transaction described under the wider Cum-Ex label.

Why the terminology matters

“Cum” and “ex” refer to whether a share is traded with or without the right to receive a dividend. In practice, the relevant arrangements could involve short sales, temporary ownership, banks acting as intermediaries and applications for tax credits or refunds. The tax treatment depended on the applicable national rules and on the documents supporting each claim.

For that reason, a headline figure does not describe one single transaction or one uniform method. Estimates may cover transactions that differ in structure, legal status and evidentiary record. Responsible reporting must therefore identify the source of a figure and explain what it includes.

What is publicly documented

• CORRECTIV published the first CumEx Files investigation in 2018 with international media partners.
• The investigation reported a potential loss of at least €55.2 billion across 11 countries during approximately 15 years, based on its own analysis.
• CumEx Files 2.0, published in 2021, examined additional documents, countries and transaction types and presented a broader estimate.
• National authorities and courts investigated particular transactions and participants; findings in one case do not automatically apply to every person, company or arrangement mentioned in the wider reporting.
• The European dimension arose from the interaction between cross-border securities markets and national tax systems.

Sources and editorial scope

This overview is based on the CumEx Files investigations published by CORRECTIV, including the 2018 investigation and CumEx Files 2.0 from 2021, as well as publicly reported decisions of the German Federal Court of Justice. The figures and descriptions are presented as reported or calculated by those sources. They are not an independent legal assessment and do not determine responsibility in any individual case.

The significance of the investigations lies not only in the reported size of the potential tax losses, but also in the method: journalists in different countries combined records and expertise to examine a financial system that could not be understood from one national archive alone.

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