Anne Brorhilker: Cum/Ex, Milliarden und Moral

Fearless, tenacious, and relentless: Anne Brorhilker, the former lead investigator in the Cum/Ex scandal, takes a look behind the scenes of the financial lobby, organized white-collar crime, and the biggest tax scandal in German history. Billions were shifted, laws were broken, and responsibility was shirked. Anne Brorhilker understands the complex relationship between white-collar crime and the justice system: she has seen the places where money and power trump the law. She knows both the mechanisms that allow billions to vanish and the people and structures that protect them. For over two decades, she served as a prosecutor, most recently as senior prosecutor and head of the departments handling Cum/Ex cases at the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office, before leaving public service in 2024. Today, she is a board member of the citizens’ movement Finanzwende e.V.
Anne Brorhilker reveals the full extent of the Cum/Ex scandal, how it managed to stay under the radar for so long, and why the government is struggling so much to recover the billions. She explains the perpetrators’ mindset, the power of the financial lobby, and the consequences of their actions—while also showing how we, as a society, can respond collectively. Anne Brorhilker is convinced that real change can only be achieved through a strong, informed civil society. Where money and power challenge the law, she raises her voice in opposition: “The state can defend itself, and ultimately, the state is all of us—we, the citizens.”

Anne Brorhilkeris a lawyer and worked for over two decades in the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office. As a senior public prosecutor, she investigated Cum/Ex perpetrators and secured numerous final judgments. In April 2024, she requested to be released from public service. Today, she is a board member of thecitizens’ movement Finanzwende e.V., where she heads the financial crime division. She lives in Cologne and Berlin.