<p>BERLIN — Interpol on Tuesday issued a global alert for a New Zealand banker wanted by Germany in connection with a massive tax fraud scheme.</p>
<p>The agency based in Lyon, France, posted a ‘red notice’ on its website seeking information on the whereabouts of 53-year-old Paul Robert Mora, who is suspected of facilitating and concealing fraudulent transactions worth more than 113 million euros ($137 million).</p>
<p>Mora is alleged to have acted on behalf of an investor while he worked at a large bank between 2006 and 2008.</p>
<p>Frankfurt prosecutors, who are handling the investigation, said Mora has “many contacts abroad, including in New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland, Australia and Spain.”</p>
<p>The case against Mora is part of a broader investigation into so-called cum-ex transactions where participants would lend each other shares to collect reimbursement for taxes they hadn’t paid.</p>
<p>European countries are estimated to have lost tens of billions of euros from those and similar transactions over the years, until a bank whistleblower alerted the media and forced authorities to clamp down on the practice.</p>
<p>The trial against Mora and other suspects before a court in Wiesbaden, Germany, is due to begin March 25. It was repeatedly postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>A related trial in Bonn last year resulted in suspended sentences for two British bankers after they agreed to provide detailed information about the fraud scheme.</p>
