British hedge fund boss accused of £1.7bn fraud in Denmark will be extradited to face charges

A Dubai court has authorised the extradition of a British man who is wanted over an alleged 1.7 billion euro tax fraud in Denmark. 

Hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah was arrested in Dubai in June, but the emirate’s Court of Appeal rejected an extradition request by Denmark in September.

The Court of Appeal overturned that decision today, according to the media office of Dubai’s government.

They said in a statement: ‘The Dubai Court of Appeal has issued a ruling to extradite Sanjay Shah, a British citizen, to Denmark… for alleged fraud and money laundering.’

Sanjay Shah was arrested in Dubai in June and today a Dubai court has authorised his extradition to Denmark, after an extradition requested by the country was previously rejected in September

The British hedge fund boss is accused of running a scheme for three years from 2012 in which foreign firms pretended to own shares in Danish companies and claimed tax refunds

Horizons & Co, a firm representing Shah, noted that ‘today’s decision confirms that Mr Shah can be extradited from the UAE’.

Shah will not be extradited immediately.

Shah is accused of running a scheme for three years from 2012 in which foreign firms pretended to own shares in Danish companies and claimed tax refunds.

Shah has said he is not guilty and claims he did not violate Danish law, according to domestic media in the United Arab Emirates. He was arrested under a bilateral extradition treaty signed in March.

The trader previously had had his £14.7million Hyde Park mansion seized by Denmark after being accused of the fraud. 

Horizons & Co’s Managing Partner Ali Al Zarooni said: ‘We now have 30 days in which to appeal today’s judgement in the Court of Cassation, the highest Court in the UAE.’ 

He said in a statement: ‘The decision of the Court of Cassation, which we anticipate in the next two months, will be final.’

In a joint statement, Denmark’s justice and foreign ministries in June praised Dubai’s arrest of Shah, whom they described as a target of the country’s prosecutors since 2015. 

Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Danish news agency Ritzau: ‘It has required a sustained effort from Danish diplomacy to reach this point and a constructive cooperation with the Emirati authorities.

‘Hopefully, today we have come a big step closer to bringing Sanjay Shah to justice.’