Briton gets 12 years' jail in Denmark for tax fraud

British hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah was sentenced by a Danish court to 12 years in prison after being found guilty on Dec 12 of defrauding the state to the tune of US$1.3 billion (S$1.75 billion) in a "cum-ex" tax case.

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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 following the 2008 financial crisis.

The Glostrup city court found that Shah, 54, masterminded a scheme that fraudulently secured nine billion Danish kroner (S$1.7 billion) in dividend tax refunds from the Danish treasury between 2012 and 2015.

Shah has denied any wrongdoing and argued that he used a legal loophole. He immediately appealed against the verdict to the Danish High Court.