Dubai court orders hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah to pay $1.25bn to Danish authorities

Dubai, May 26

A Dubai court has ordered Indian-origin hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah, convicted of tax fraud and money laundering, to pay Denmark's tax authority 4.6 billion dirhams ($1.25bn), thus rejecting a final appeal by him against a civil lawsuit, media reports said.

The Dubai Court of Cassation issued a binding ruling this month, saying Shah must pay the amount as part of a civil case that was filed by Denmark's tax authority (Skat) five years ago, The National reported.

Shah also has to pay to the Danish authorities an additional 5 per cent interest on the sum, accrued from the date the case was lodged in August 2018, the court said.

"The process of execution in terms of how this money will be paid back to Skat, has already been initiated," said OGH Legal, the Dubai firm acting on behalf of the Danish tax agency.

"This conclusive ruling after a nearly five-year pursuit of justice underscores the serious and uncompromising stance of the UAE authorities against financial misconduct," The National quoted OGH Legal as saying.

Shah, 52, who lived on The Palm Jumeirah, was arrested by Dubai Police in June last year following Denmark's extradition petition. His fraud scheme involved submitting thousands of applications to the Danish Treasury on behalf of investors and companies from several countries around the world in order to receive dividend tax refunds, according to Dubai Police.

The scheme involved 126 fake companies.

In April this year, the Court of Cassation ruled that Shah would be extradited to Denmark for prosecution over the tax fraud allegations. A UAE official said last month that the process of extraditing Shah was set to begin.