After a lengthy legal tug-of-war, the court in Dubai has ruled that Sanjay Shah, the alleged mastermind in the so-called DKK 12.7 billion dividend fraud case, must now be extradited from Dubai to Denmark. This ended a legal tug-of-war that had lasted several years. He and another Briton named Anthony Mark Patterson allegedly unjustly pocketed billions of kroner in dividend tax refunds. Shah faces 12 years in prison if found guilty. He pleaded not guilty.
The Dubai Court of Cassation has rejected the appeal of British-Indian Sanjay Shah. He can be extradited to Denmark over fraud and money laundering charges,” the Dubai government’s media office announced on Twitter. The Dubai Courts had initially rejected Denmark’s extradition request.
The decision must be submitted to the UAE justice minister for a final decision on extradition.
Sanjay Shah is a Dubai-based British-Indian businessman and suspected tax fraudster. He is a prime suspect in a case regarding the Danish Government being allegedly defrauded of 12.7 billion DKK (1.65 billion euros) between 2012 and 2015, part of the CumEx-Files involving multiple European nations and a number of the world’s largest banks.
The fraud scheme involved submitting thousands of applications to the Danish Treasury on behalf of investors and companies from several countries worldwide to receive dividend tax refunds. Shah has admitted his company enabled clients to claim around DKK 8 billion from the Ministry of Taxation. He claimed he only used legal tax loopholes, where dividend income is taxed differently in various jurisdictions.
It is the largest case of white-collar crime in Denmark to date. The authorities have been waiting years to bring him before a Danish judge. The extradition of Sanjay Shah could also pave the way for the extradition of other defendants in the dividend case.
