COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – A Dubai-based British hedge fund trader sought by Danish authorities on suspicion of orchestrating a $1.7 billion tax evasion, one of the largest in the Nordic countries, has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates, authorities said. announced on Wednesday. .
Investor Sanjay Shah was arrested in Dubai on charges of masterminding a scheme between 2012 and 2015 in which foreign companies falsely claimed to own shares in Danish companies and claimed tax refunds to which they were not entitled. He was convicted in May. A court in the United Arab Emirates granted his extradition.
According to Danish media, he was on a plane that arrived in Copenhagen from Dubai early Wednesday morning. The Ministry of Justice said Danish police officers traveled to Dubai to pick him up.
Denmark’s Tax Minister Jeppe Bruce called this “one of the biggest criminal fraud cases in Danish history” and said: “It goes without saying that as a society we cannot accept that our public treasury is exposed.”
Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen added that Denmark is “sending an important signal that staying abroad will not be punished”.
Shah’s British lawyer, Chris Waters, told Danish broadcaster TV2 that his client denies any wrongdoing and “continues to have doubts about whether he will receive a fair trial in Denmark.” he said. His Danish lawyer, Cole Pillman, told TV2 that he needed to read more than 300,000 pages of the case file before deciding on a defense line.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard reiterated in a press conference before his return that the Shah is innocent until proven guilty. “But when he becomes a prime suspect in a multibillion-dollar case, he attracts attention,” he says.
Mr Bruce, who attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he was due to fly home but had to give up his seat to the “main culprit”.
Once in Danish territory, Shah will be formally arrested and Danish prosecutors will request remand into custody. A trial outside Copenhagen is scheduled for January 8.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said a deal with the United Arab Emirates would also mean Denmark would seek the extradition of a man wanted for the 2019 murder of a police officer. The suspect sped through central Copenhagen in his car, and police tried to stop him.