True stories often act as a welcome starting material to tell a film or a series. Sometimes it can be a classic biopic, sometimes a look at the zeitgeist of a certain decade. However, the most exciting variety of this type of stories are those that sound so incredibly that you can’t actually believe them. The Cum-Ex affair is also one.
Anyone who has followed the news events somewhat carefully in recent years should have stumbled through the catchphrase Cum-Ex. 2018 was the Tax fraud in billions uncovered by an elaborate research. Seven years later, this research serves as the basis for an exciting thriller, the first four episodes of which celebrated its premiere at the Berlinale.
What exactly was the cum-ex scandal again and why is that so exciting as a series?
The CUM-EX scandal is tax fraud on a large scale, which basically amounts to that taxes are paid, but are reimbursed twice by a loophole. In this process, stock dealers, tax consultants, benchers, lawyers and investors – many different figures in different positions that are knowingly or unknowingly part of the fraud stitch are involved in this process.
Behind the series is Jan Schomburg, who last as co-author of Maria Schrader’s celebrated direction before the dawn and I am your person sensitive thoughts to the cinema. Now he outlines terrible people who are so obviously doing the wrong thing that they can only be despised. And yet somehow you want to see whether you get from it with your brazen ideas.
This includes the lawyer Dr. Bernd Hausner (Justus von Dohnányi) and his Protegé Sven Lebert (Nils Strunk), who prove to be a driving force behind the cum-ex scandal. You have discovered a gap in the system and try to make profit from it as soon as possible, but have to convince some critical minds of your plan and legality. The right timing is the key to success.
Schomburg also brings the counter-figures on board: the tax officer Inger Brøgger (Karen-Lise Mynster), who is sitting in Denmark, also notices some inconsistencies. The German prosecutor Lena Birkwald (Lisa Wagner) also moves against fraud. And then there would be Niels Jensen (David Dencik), who has to choose which team he plays for.
The Cum-Ex affair is always best when Justus von Dohnányi derails the view
On the one hand, the Cum-Ex affair follows an outrageous triumphal march. On the other hand, there is a tension that ensures nervous eyes. The best are the moments when Hausner and Leber are torn from their investment speaking, since the granddaughter suddenly stands at the door and for one uncomfortable reality checks worries that you don’t want to face.
Last but not least, it is clear to Hausner and Co. right from the start: tax law is not a moral law. As soon as these words are pronounced, the series puts the finger in the wound and delivers valuable ignition fabric for the drama: Schomburg places something true to the frenzy of the business, which only consists of faceless numbers and processes Relentless of a car wash.
Several times, Justus von Dohnányi’s home visits the place where a dirty car can turn into a radiant creature. When the queue in front of the car wash becomes too long, the simplest of all processes in the Cum-Ex Affair Affair mutates into an unexpected challenge, because the owner of the car wash is not so easy to bribe.
From Dohnányi in Jordan Belfort mode is the magnet of this series, especially when his house wrestles for words because the world is not at her feet. As big as the curiosity is how exactly its master plan works: nothing is more enjoyable than the moment when the dreams on the cliff shatter from reality – according to the model of films like The Wolf of Wall Street. Nevertheless, something is missing.
The merciless sharpness of Bad Banks is missing: The Cum-Ex affair is still entertaining
We are led quickly by the first four episodes. However, the incredible of this true story often gets stuck in general places. Schomburg does not create a figure that, like Paula Beer’s investment banker Jana Liekam, burns from Bad Banks. It eats its way into the banking world monsterly and fragile at the same time, so that you can keep your breath every second.
The Cum-Ex affair relies too much on tried and tested patterns and adheres to characters that rarely challenge us as the viewer. “Where do you actually live? Nothing is completely without risk!”In a scene, it echoes cunning through the room when the questionability of the Cum-Ex Design is once again discussed. The series itself would not have harmed a little more of this relentless energy.
All of this is entertaining and entertaining. Just not so razor -sharphow to expect it after succession, billions and bad banks. These series sink their border figures in dizzying word battles and enter them into a spiral of human abysses and the disturbing processes of capitalism. The Cum-Ex affair, on the other hand, feels much tamer.
We saw the first four episodes of the Cum-Ex affair as part of the Berlinale 2025. In total, the mini series comprises eight episodes. It is not yet clear when they are regularly broadcast on television.