A Danish court on Thursday sentenced a British hedge fund trader to 12 years in prison for defrauding Danish tax authorities of hundreds of millions of dollars between 2012 and 2015.

A Danish court on Thursday sentenced a British hedge fund trader to 12 years in prison for defrauding Danish tax authorities of hundreds of millions of dollars between 2012 and 2015. Sanjay Shah, who denied the charges, was convicted of running a nine-billion-kroner ($1.27-billion) scam that enabled companies he controlled to fraudulently claim Danish tax refunds between 2012 and 2015. The court also ordered Shah deported from Denmark on completion of his sentence, and that assets worth 7.2 billion kroner be confiscated. Watch | Georgia Political Unrest: Two Weeks Of Anti-Government Protest In Tbilisi, Many Injured Shah wished reporters a "Merry Christmas," as he showed up to court wearing a Santa hat, before receiving the harshest sentence ever handed out in Denmark for financial crimes, broadcaster DR reported. At the last hearing in September, he assured the court that he had acted in good faith. During the trial, which began in May after an almost 10-year investigation, the prosecution showed that dummy companies controlled by Shah pretended to own shares in Danish companies and received tax rebates for which they were not eligible. Prosecutors said they had identified more than 3,000 such requests using what they described as a "well-designed and organised fraud scheme." In January 2021, when the indictment was announced, the prosecutor's office said it had already seized some three billion kronor. In May 2023, a Dubai court ordered Shah to pay Denmark's tax authority over $1.2 billion, and another trial is also underway in Britain. So-called "cum-ex" and "cum-cum" scams, which take advantage of a loophole in European tax laws, have been uncovered in several EU countries. Also read | Donald Trump gets Time's 'Person of the Year' recognition for second time The scheme involved buying and selling shares around the time of dividend payments, so quickly that the tax authorities were unable to identify the true owner, making it possible to illegally claim tax credits on profits. According to Bloomberg estimates, the scams have cost European taxpayers up to 150 billion euros ($157 billion). Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Danish court sentences British hedge fund trader to 12 years in prison for massive tax fraud

A Danish court on Thursday (Aug 29) rejected New Delhi’s request to extradite one individual wanted in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case. Niels Holck, also known as Kim Peter Davy was allegedly behind the dropping of a cache of weapons in West Bengal's Purulia district as a Latvian Antonov An-26 aircraft flew over Indian airspace on December 17, 1995. The weapons were meant for a rebel group in the eastern Indian state.

New Delhi has been making efforts for years to get Davy,&nbsp;&nbsp;a Danish national, extradited so that a trial can be initiated in India. But a&nbsp;Danish court rejected India’s request, saying handing him over to Indian authorities may violate the European Convention on Human Rights.

Anders Rechendorff, the public prosecutor, was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters that it was not confirmed whether the decision would be appealed.

Meanwhile, Davy’s attorneys argued that the guarantees given by India were inadequate.

"It's been six years of negotiating the conditions between the public prosecutor and India. Now the court says that his safety can't be guaranteed," Jonas Christoffersen said.

Notably, Davy&nbsp;had previously admitted in a Danish court that he was aboard the plane which supplied the weapons to a village in West Bengal. He also acknowledged on record that the cache was meant for a rebel group named Ananda Marga.

<h2>More about Purulia arms drop case</h2>

As per reports, the massive weapon cache included hundreds of AK-47 rifles, anti-tank grenades, rocket launchers, and over 25,000 rounds of ammunition.

The weapons were to be supplied to Ananda Marga, a socio-spiritual organisation with a history of militancy.

As the plane dropped the cache in West Bengal, it was detected by an Indian Air Force plane. As the people on board the plane tried to escape, they were detained and put on trial.

Also read:&nbsp;<a data-ved="2ahUKEwi8o66y2JqIAxXNTGcHHdYPCu4QxfQBKAB6BAgMEAE" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mamata-banerjee-salutes-west-bengal-police-after-teargas-fired-on-protesters-753992" jsname="YKoRaf" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://www.wionews.com/world/mamata-banerjee-salutes-west-bengal-police-after-teargas-fired-on-protesters-753992&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi8o66y2JqIAxXNTGcHHdYPCu4QxfQBKAB6BAgMEAE">CM Mamata Banerjee salutes West Bengal police after teargas use on protesters</a>

But the main accused, Davy, is believed to have evaded authorities at the airport. He allegedly bribed airport officials and fled to Nepal and then back to his home country Denmark.

Later, Davy and the plane crew lead, Peter Bleach, alleged that India was aware of the delivery of weapons as it wanted to overthrow the communist government in the state.

As per some theories, Davy was a secret CIA operative and that’s why he was granted immunity by the Danish authorities.

(With inputs from agencies)

A Danish court on Thursday (Aug 29) rejected New Delhi’s request to extradite one individual wanted in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case. Niels Holck, also known as Kim Peter Davy was allegedly behind the dropping of a cache of weapons in West Bengal's Purulia district as a Latvian Antonov An-26 aircraft flew over Indian airspace on December 17, 1995.

A Danish court on Thursday (Aug 29) rejected New Delhi’s request to extradite one individual wanted in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case. Niels Holck, also known as Kim Peter Davy was allegedly behind the dropping of a cache of weapons in West Bengal's Purulia district as a Latvian Antonov An-26 aircraft flew over Indian airspace on December 17, 1995. The weapons were meant for a rebel group in the eastern Indian state. New Delhi has been making efforts for years to get Davy, a Danish national, extradited so that a trial can be initiated in India. But a Danish court rejected India’s request, saying handing him over to Indian authorities may violate the European Convention on Human Rights. Anders Rechendorff, the public prosecutor, was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters that it was not confirmed whether the decision would be appealed. Meanwhile, Davy’s attorneys argued that the guarantees given by India were inadequate. "It's been six years of negotiating the conditions between the public prosecutor and India. Now the court says that his safety can't be guaranteed," Jonas Christoffersen said. Notably, Davy had previously admitted in a Danish court that he was aboard the plane which supplied the weapons to a village in West Bengal. He also acknowledged on record that the cache was meant for a rebel group named Ananda Marga. More about Purulia arms drop case As per reports, the massive weapon cache included hundreds of AK-47 rifles, anti-tank grenades, rocket launchers, and over 25,000 rounds of ammunition. The weapons were to be supplied to Ananda Marga, a socio-spiritual organisation with a history of militancy. As the plane dropped the cache in West Bengal, it was detected by an Indian Air Force plane. As the people on board the plane tried to escape, they were detained and put on trial. Also read: CM Mamata Banerjee salutes West Bengal police after teargas use on protesters But the main accused, Davy, is believed to have evaded authorities at the airport. He allegedly bribed airport officials and fled to Nepal and then back to his home country Denmark. Later, Davy and the plane crew lead, Peter Bleach, alleged that India was aware of the delivery of weapons as it wanted to overthrow the communist government in the state. As per some theories, Davy was a secret CIA operative and that’s why he was granted immunity by the Danish authorities. (With inputs from agencies)

Purulia arms drop case: Danish court rejects India’s request to extradite main accused

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Danish court sentences British hedge fund trader to 12 years in prison for massive tax fraud

Purulia arms drop case: Danish court rejects India’s request to extradite main accused