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

ADanishcourton Thursday sentenced aBritishhedge fundtraderto12yearsin prison for defraudingDanishtax 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 claimDanishtax refunds between 2012 and 2015.

Thecourtalso ordered Shah deported from Denmark on completion of his sentence, and that assets worth 7.2 billion kroner be confiscated.

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Shah wished reporters a "Merry Christmas," as he showed up tocourtwearing 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 thecourtthat 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 inDanishcompanies 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 organisedfraudscheme."

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 Dubaicourtordered Shah to payDenmark'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.

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).

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