The year 2022 brought with it economic challenges due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that were in no way inferior to those of its predecessors.
But there was also positive news.
For example, that some of the biggest economic scandals of the recent past have been shed light on or that justice has already been done.
A remarkable pattern emerges across the board: the apparent ignorance of key actors.
Example of cum-ex transactions: In mid-December, the district court in Bonn sentenced the lawyer Hanno Berger to eight years in prison because the former star consultant for tax optimization models was the "inventor of cum-ex 2.0".
As a result, the German state suffered damage in the three-digit million range in the period under review alone.
insight?
none.
Gaps in memory of the Federal Chancellor
It is noteworthy in this context that the incumbent Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz continues to refer to gaps in his memory when it comes to his contacts as the first mayor of Hamburg with the Warburg Bank, which is also involved in Cum-ex.
The defense strategy of ex-Wirecard boss Markus Braun before the Munich Regional Court sounds even more absurd, saying that he did not notice anything about the payment processor’s invented sales.
If the biggest accounting scandal in German history was really just the work of a few managers, Braun would probably be the most incompetent CEO of all time.
And in the case of the crypto exchange FTX, which has just collapsed, the former young star Sam Bankman-Fried initially acted naive and overwhelmed.
Managers and entrepreneurs are driven to create growth and add value.
It is therefore more important than ever that decisions and liability must be inextricably linked.
Ignorance should not protect you from the consequences.