Former prosecutor Anne Brorhilker and journalist Eva Quadbeck discussed the political failures that facilitated the Cum-Ex fraud on "Markus Lanz." Brorhilker, who investigated the scandal for ten years until April 2024, stated that a lack of expertise and lobbying efforts by the financial industry led to the widespread belief in a non-existent legal loophole, when in fact, the actions were always illegal. Quadbeck characterized Cum-Ex as theft and robbery, not mere tax evasion, and criticized the government's insufficient understanding of financial markets and overreliance on financial lobby influence. Both highlighted the complexity of the fraud, which has cost the state at least 10 billion euros, potentially over 40 billion euros with Cum-Cum transactions, and called for better expertise within ministries and a centralized federal authority to address such complex financial crimes.