(Bloomberg) -- Four former bankers at bankrupt Maple Bank GmbH should get as much as almost six years in prison for their role in a Cum-Ex case that allegedly cost German taxpayers 388.6 million euros ($388.1 million), prosecutors asked a German court.

One of the accused, a 58 year-old American, should get the highest term and serve five years and nine months, Frankfurt prosecutors said in closing arguments on Monday, according to a spokesman for the court. Ex-Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Schuck, 68, should get five years and three months, while a 51 year-old trader should get three years and nine months. Another 62 year-old banker who cooperated with prosecutors should be handed a suspended sentences, according to the prosecutors. 

Prosecutors also want the men to give up the money they made while working on the deals. The court should seize 5.5 million euros from Schuck, 2 million euros form the American and 1.5 million euros from the trader. The highest amount, 10.9 million euros, should be paid by the banker whom prosecutors want to spare jail time. 

Germany’s justice system is cracking down on perpetrators of transactions dubbed as a “blatant money grab” by the nation’s top criminal court last year. A court in Bonn has already convicted four bankers in three trials. Judges in the Maple case already in February warned the four men that their actions would highly likely result in jail time.   

Cum-Ex, a trading strategy set up to gain refunds on taxes that were never paid, syphoned off at least 10 billion euros in government revenue over several years. Named for the Latin term for “with-without,” Cum-Ex took advantage of German tax laws that seemed to allow multiple investors to claim refunds of a tax that was paid only once. The nation moved to abolish the practice in 2012.

The Maple bankers dubbed the strategy they ran from 2006 to 2009 the “German Pair.” Initially, they organized the trades within the bank’s group. Starting in 2008, they added other financial players on the short-seller side, including Barclays Plc, Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch and Fortis Bank Nederland NV. These banks and Maple prearranged the trades to obtain the illegitimate tax refunds, according to preliminary findings in the case.

The trial has been pending since May of last year. Defense attorneys are scheduled to start their closing arguments next week and continue them in October. A verdict may come only in November, a court spokesman has said. 

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