TV release
'System Failure: The Cum-Ex Scandal' on 3sat and ZDF stream
A documentary by Judith Lentze
The film uncovers the biggest tax fraud in history: the Cum-Ex scandal. For years, the multi-billion euro fraud involving banks, investors, and lawyers went unnoticed. Based on investigative journalist Oliver Schröm’s research (The Cum-Ex Files), director Judith Lentze offers a multi-perspective reconstruction, featuring accused individuals, prosecutors, and whistleblowers. The documentary reveals how, since the 1990s, sophisticated share deals enabled systematic tax fraud across Europe, and how brave officials within tax authorities and the judiciary pursued justice despite intimidation and legal pressure. Their perseverance turned the exposure of this white-collar crime into a modern-day hero story—about a scandal that still costs society dearly.
TV release: Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 8:15 pm / 3sat
Online: ZDF
Director Judith Lentze talks in detail about the background and the making of the film in the podcast “Filmfrauen”. ZDF takes up the film and its research in the magazine program WISO. As a special highlight, ZDFmediathek is currently showing the highly acclaimed German-Danish drama series “The Cum-Ex Affair”, which has already been celebrated as a preview at the Berlinale.