A British hedge fund trader has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in Denmark, after being found guilty of committing tax fraud that cost the Danish government more than £1bn.
This is the heaviest fine ever for fraud in Denmark.
In addition to the prison sentence, financier Sanjay Shah, founder of London-based hedge fund Solo Capital Partners, was banned from entering Denmark permanently and had $1bn (DKK 7.2bn) in assets seized. will string of properties.
He has said he plans to appeal the decision.
His lawyer, Kier Pihlman, told the BBC, “We believe there is a good chance that the High Court will come to a different conclusion, and obviously we are also hoping for a more lenient decision.”
Shah entered the courtroom wearing a navy hooded sweatshirt and a red Santa Claus hat.
Sitting between his lawyers, the 54-year-old Briton was calm and straight-faced as a judge read out the verdict.
Nana Blach told the court that Shah played a “totally central and controlling role” in a scheme that led to “unfair” payments, adding that the crime was “meticulously planned”. and organized”.
The sentence came after a high-profile trial that lasted several months.
Prosecutors accused Shah of using a series of complex trades to fraudulently reclaim more than £1bn (DKK 9bn) in dividend tax refunds from the Danish treasury between 2012 and 2015, using so-called low -X is the mastermind of the scheme.
Shah has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, arguing that he had used legal recourse. His defense lawyers tried several times to have the case dismissed.
Danish prosecutor Mary Tollen told the BBC that the maximum sentence given to Shah reflected “the extraordinarily large amount of money, the time spent on it, and his role in managing it all.” , has been perpetrating this fraud against the Danish state for many years.”
“This is by far the biggest. [fraud] In terms of money,” he added. “I think the sentence speaks for itself, because this is a crime that has never been seen before.”
Before his arrest, Shah was living in Dubai, where he was reportedly known to throw lavish parties and host concerts for his autism charity, featuring performances by major celebrities.
He was arrested in 2022 and extradited from the UAE to Denmark in December last year.
So-called low-x trading schemes have flourished since the 2008 financial crisis, with Germany, Belgium and Denmark among the hardest-hit European countries, according to Reuters.
The schemes typically involve the rapid sale of large amounts of shares from one investor to another before dividends are paid, enabling duplicate claims of withholding tax.
The Danish government has previously said the cost of the lower ex-works scheme was more than $1.8bn (12.7bn DKK). Shah was one of nine British and American nationals charged with defrauding the state.
Shah also faces a parallel civil tax fraud case in London, filed by the Danish tax authority, which is due to end in April.
As he exited the courthouse, once again escorted by police officers wearing his Santa Claus hat, Shah flashed a smile to reporters and said, “See you next year.”