British businessman Sanjay Shah was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday, December 12.
As per The Guardian, he was convicted of defrauding the Danish state and this is the longest sentence ever given for a financial crime in the country.
Glostrup court found Shah guilty of major fraud, stating that he played a “central and controlling role” in a large tax fraud scheme that involved claiming fraudulent dividend tax refunds, totalling more than 9 billion DKK (£996m).
The case began in August 2015 when Danish tax authorities discovered that billions had been unlawfully claimed from the treasury.
Along with the 12-year prison sentence, Shah will also be deported and prohibited from running a business.
He will have 7.2 billion DKK taken from him, which is the amount the prosecution proved he earned through the fraud.
So far, Danish police have already seized approximately 3 billion DKK.
Shah denied committing a crime, arguing that he was simply taking advantage of a loophole in Danish tax laws.
However, the court rejected his argument, stating that he was not entitled to the money he claimed.
The verdict stated that “the 54-year-old’s central and controlling role in the crime, which was carefully planned and systematically organised and further streamlined along the way by developing a software system, meant that the crime escalated dramatically”.
The 54-year-old quickly appealed the ruling. He will now remain in custody until the high court issues a decision on the appeal.
