In the tax affair surrounding the Hamburg Warburg Bank, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) continues to reject any responsibility.
"There is no evidence that there was any political influence," Scholz said on Thursday in Berlin during his summer press conference, referring to extensive investigations over the past two and a half years.
"I'm sure that this knowledge will not be changed." In addition, the Chancellor emphasized: "He also collected all the taxes that the state demanded."
In the so-called cum-ex scandal, financial players moved blocks of shares around the dividend deadline in a complicated system in such a way that they were reimbursed for taxes they had never paid.
A parliamentary investigative committee of the Hamburg Parliament wants to clarify whether leading SPD politicians are influencing tax decisions on the Warburg Bank.
It is also about the question of what role Scholz played in the affair as Hamburg's head of government.
After meetings in 2016 and 2017 with the bank shareholders Christian Olearius and Max Warburg in Scholz's office, the tax authorities had allowed a tax reclaim of 47 million euros against the bank to expire.
A further 43 million were only claimed after the Federal Ministry of Finance intervened shortly before the statute of limitations expired.
When a journalist claimed on Thursday that the bankers were allowed to keep "stolen" money after meeting Scholz, the chancellor vehemently contradicted: "You wouldn't be able to substantiate this factual claim if you had to," Scholz warned.
"Consider that when you say something like that."
The meetings are said to have been initiated by the then member of the Bundestag Johannes Kahrs.
Investigation files are said to show that more than 200,000 euros in cash were found in a safe deposit box belonging to SPD politician Kahrs.
When asked what he knew about the money, Scholz replied on Thursday: "Nothing".
The Chancellor also did not comment on the possible origin of the money: "I have no idea - I assume you know that better than I do."