The offices of Deutsche Post and the Cologne home of chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel were raided at dawn today amid allegations of tax evasion.

A spokesman for the German postal group confirmed the raid at its Bonn offices and that Mr Zumwinkel was the subject of the inquiry but would not say what was being investigated.

It has been speculated in the German media that the postal chief had transferred millions of euros to a bank in Liechtenstein to evade German taxation.

A spokesman for police prosecutors said that “several persons” were being investigated for tax evasion and that investigations were taking place in Cologne and Bonn but would not say who was the subject of the inquiry.

Mr Zumwinkel, a multimillionaire, has been head of Deutsche Post since 1990, when it was still in state ownership.

The group, which is active in overseas markets, including the UK, was floated in 2000.

His tenure at the helm of the organisation makes him the longest-serving chief executive in the Dax index.

But Mr Zumwinkel, 64, has said that he would review his future at Deutsche Post this summer as his contract runs out in November.

News of the police investigation sent shares up 3.5 per cent as investors anticipated an early departure.

A police source is reported as saying that a warrant had been issued for Mr Zumwinkel’s arrest, indicating the seriousness of the allegations.

However, police were not expecting to have to use the warrant.

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