Deutsche Post boss resigns as major tax scandal rocks Germany

By IRNA

Berlin : The German government accepted the resignation of the chairman of Deutsche Post Klaus Zumwinkel who stepped down from his post less than a day after police raided his home and office in the western cities of Cologne and Bonn on tax evasion charges.


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Speaking at a routine weekly press briefing, government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm “welcomed” the resignation of the 64-year-old Zumwinkel who headed Deutsche Post for 18 years.

The German government has a 30 percent stake in the company and has a representative on the board of directors of Deutsche Post.

Prosecutors announced they were investigating tax evasion totaling around one million euros (1.5 million US dollars).

Zumwinkel is accused of channeling the undeclared money to foundations in neighboring Liechtenstein which is seen as tax haven for wealthy Germans.

Meanwhile, German Finance Ministry Torsten Albig said that the probe into millions of euros stashed in Liechtenstein focused also on “numerous” high-profile German business people.

Albig did not reveal any details on the ongoing investigation which could turn out to become the biggest tax evasion scandal in the history of post-World War II Germany.

Earlier, the German DPA news agency quoted government circles as saying that up to 1,000 people were targeted by the tax scam probe.

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