A Dubai court has rejected an appeal by a British citizen charged with defrauding Danish tax authorities and ordered him to pay more than $1 billion to Denmark, according to a court document dated Tuesday and seen by Reuters.
A ruling issued by the Dubai Court of Cassation, its highest court, says Sanjay Shah must repay 4.643 billion dirhams ($1.3 billion) plus 5% interest to Denmark.
Shah's lawyer, Ali Al Zarouni, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. His media and political adviser, Jack Irvine, said in an email that he had not spoken with Shah since Tuesday's court ruling.
Shah, who denies any wrongdoing, is suspected by Danish authorities of running a scheme that involved submitting applications to the Danish Treasury on behalf of investors and companies from around the world for dividend tax refunds worth more than 9 billion Danish crowns ($1.32 billion).
Known as "cum-ex," the alleged crime involved a sham trading scheme whereby investors were able to make double tax reclaims, authorities said.
The Danish tax agency said in a statement it was satisfied with the outcome.
"The Supreme Court in Dubai on Tuesday rejected an appeal from Sanjay Shah, and thus the case against Sanjay Shah in Dubai has now reached its conclusion," the agency said.
Since Shah's arrest in Dubai in June last year, his case has gone through several court instances. UAE said in April that the process of extraditing him to Denmark had begun.
(Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Dubai and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
