Deutsche Boerse offices raided by German prosecutors

Public prosecutors raided the offices of German market exchange operator Deutsche Boerse on Tuesday as part of an investigation into tax fraud.

Prosecutors examined the premises of Deutsche Boerse’s subsidiary Clearstream, which allegedly played a key role in illegal dealings that saw the German government pay out billions of euros in tax rebates, according to a report from German daily Handelsblatt.

Prosecutors working on the six-year long investigation alleged that the government was tricked into paying the rebates by the trading of company shares across borders and between a number of banks, investors and hedge funds in order to create the false impression of numerous owners, each of which were seemingly entitled to collect a tax rebate.

A spokesman for Deutsche Boerse, which operates the Frankfurt stock exchange, stressed that the company was fully cooperating with authorities.