Police in Dubai have arrested British national, Sanjay Shah over a £1.3billion ($1.7bn) tax fraud case.
The officers working with Interpol say they plan to extradite the suspect, identified as Sanjay Shah, 52, who is wanted in Denmark over fraud allegations.
Sanjay Shah founded Solo Capital, a hedge fund firm which closed in 2016, and Autism Rocks, a charitable organization that raises awareness for autism.
Shah was detained after Denmark signed an agreement in March to allow for extradition of alleged criminals to and from the United Arab Emirates.
He is accused of fraud relating to foreign businesses pretending to own shares in Danish companies – then claim tax refunds for which they were not eligible, according to a statement from Dubai police Brigadier General, Jamal Al Jallaf.
‘The fraud scheme, known as `cum-ex’ trading, 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,’ Al Jallaf said.
Shah had been chased by prosecutors in Denmark since 2015, after the Danish treasury was cheated out of a ‘staggering amount’ of money, Justice Minister Mattias Tesfaye said.
‘It should not be possible for suspected perpetrators to hide in the Middle East and thus avoid being held accountable in a Danish courtroom,’ Tesfaye added.
‘Now I am awaiting the legal process in the United Arab Emirates, and crossing my fingers that it will end up that we can get Sanjay Shah on a plane to Denmark, so he can be prosecuted in this country.’
Shah, who has spent the past few years living in Dubai, says he is innocent of the allegations.
