German investigators, prosecutors and police yesterday searched the homes and offices of hundreds of wealthy people in the financial centres of Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Ulm after revelations the German government had lost €3.4bn (£2.5bn) in tax evasion.

The country’s millionaires and executives are suspected of being involved in transferring vast sums to a bank and foundations in Liechtenstein, the tax haven between Switzerland and Austria, The Times reports.

So far, only Klaus Zumwinkel, the former chief executive of Deutsche Post, who is facing criminal charges, has been named. He reportedly has confessed to using the Liechtenstein scheme to evade paying more than €1m in tax.

Investigators, who expect to conduct more than 125 searches by the end of this week, said more than 1,000 people were suspected of tax evasion and it was only ‘a question of time’ before more prominent names would be revealed. Planning for the police operation, a joint effort between the chancellor's office and the Finance Ministry, has been under way since 2006.

Further reading:

Germany paid for evasion tax disc

Germans face offshore tax probe

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