Denmark jails Sanjay Shah, a hedge fund trader, for tax fraud

GLOSTRUP: British hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah was sentenced by a Danish court to 12 years in prison after being found guilty on Thursday of defrauding the state to the tune of $1.3 billion in a 'cum-ex' tax case.

The sentence, one of the longest for tax fraud in Danish history, comes after a high-profile trial over trading schemes that drained billions of dollars from the public treasuries of several European countries after the 2008 financial crisis.

The city court found that Shah, 54, masterminded a scheme that fraudulently secured 9 billion Danish crowns ($1.2 billion) in dividend tax refunds from Danish treasury between 2012 and 2015.

Shah, who appeared in court wearing a red Christmas hat, has denied any wrongdoing and argued that he used a legal loophole. He immediately appealed the verdict to the Danish HC. Prosecutors had sought the maximum sentence of 12 years in prison. Before the verdict, Shah called himself "a greedy b*****d" and said his trading scheme had been "like playing Space Invaders," where he wanted to beat his previous high score.

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.

Shah faces a separate £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) civil tax fraud case in London, filed by Danish tax authority, that is due to end in April. agencies