Sanjay Shah is said to have deprived Denmark of 1.2 billion euros using tax tricks. The public prosecutor accuses him of a “cunning scam”, Shah says he merely took advantage of a loophole in the law – now the trial begins.
Last Monday, the largest fraud case in Danish history began in a court in Glostrup. The defendant is the British hedge fund manager Sanjay Shah, who has repeatedly admitted to having relieved the Danish state of nine billion crowns (1.2 billion euros) between 2012 and 2015. 80 percent of the stolen money went into Shah’s accounts. Shah himself says he is not guilty, but simply took advantage of a loophole in the law. Prosecutor Marie Tullin sees it a little differently. In her opening statement, she spoke of a “carefully planned and cunning scam” and called on the court to confiscate funds and real estate worth a total of 7.2 billion crowns, including 21 properties owned by Shah or his wife. The defendant faces twelve years in prison.