Germany charges ex-Deutsche Bank employee in vast tax scam

BERLIN – German prosecutors have indicted a 48-year-old former employee of Deutsche Bank as part of a probe into a massive tax evasion scam that’s already seen 13 people sentenced to up to eight years imprisonment.

Prosecutors in Frankfurt said Thursday that the suspect, an Austrian citizen, was part of a group that traded carbon emissions certificates and claimed refunds on taxes they’d never paid.

They allegedly stole about 145 million euros ($162 million) before the scam was discovered in 2010.

German news agency dpa reported that Deutsche Bank has repaid the sum. The bank itself has never been charged because companies can’t be held criminally responsible under German law.

The suspect, whose name wasn’t released, allegedly used his senior position to quell suspicions among other staff at Deutsche Bank’s London office.