Key Takeaways
- • Sanjay Shah, founder of former hedge fund Solo Capital, has launched an appeal before Copenhagen's High Court against his 12-year Danish prison sentence for serious fraud, according to Bloomberg.
- • Prosecutors allege Shah orchestrated thousands of fraudulent dividend tax refund applications between 2012 and 2015 that cost Denmark's treasury more than DKK9bn ($1.35bn) as part of the wider Cum-Ex scandal.
- • Shah maintains his trading exploited legal loopholes and will draw on a 2025 London civil court ruling in which Denmark's tax authority failed to establish deceit and criticised its own refund controls.
- • The Danish court found more than 80% of the scheme's proceeds flowed to Shah, who has been in Danish custody since his 2023 extradition from Dubai.
- • The appeal involves 23 court hearings, with a verdict expected in spring 2027.
Summary
Sanjay Shah, the 56-year-old British trader who founded Solo Capital, a former hedge fund, has appealed his 12-year prison sentence in Denmark, according to Bloomberg. Shah appeared before Copenhagen's High Court on Tuesday seeking to overturn his 2024 conviction for serious fraud. Prosecutors accused him of orchestrating thousands of fraudulent dividend tax refund applications between 2012 and 2015, a scheme that cost the Danish treasury more than DKK9bn ($1.35bn). The case is part of the broader Cum-Ex trading scandal, which has implicated banks, traders and financial institutions across Europe.
Shah has consistently denied wrongdoing, maintaining that his trading activities exploited legal loopholes rather than constituting fraud. His defence is expected to rely on a separate London civil court ruling from 2025, in which Denmark's tax authority failed to establish deceit in proceedings against Shah and other defendants. That court also criticised weaknesses in the authority's controls over tax refunds.
The original Danish court found that Shah played a central role in developing and operating the scheme, including using software to increase the volume of refund claims. The judge concluded that more than 80% of the proceeds flowed to Shah, who has been held in Danish custody since his extradition from Dubai in 2023.
The case forms part of a wider investigation into dividend tax refund schemes that cost Denmark an estimated DKK12.7bn. Two other traders have been convicted in connection with the scandal, including former Solo Capital associate Anthony Mark Patterson, who received an eight-year sentence in 2024. The appeal is scheduled to involve 23 court hearings, with a verdict expected in spring 2027.
Shah has consistently denied wrongdoing, maintaining that his trading activities exploited legal loopholes rather than constituting fraud. His defence is expected to rely on a separate London civil court ruling from 2025, in which Denmark's tax authority failed to establish deceit in proceedings against Shah and other defendants. That court also criticised weaknesses in the authority's controls over tax refunds.
The original Danish court found that Shah played a central role in developing and operating the scheme, including using software to increase the volume of refund claims. The judge concluded that more than 80% of the proceeds flowed to Shah, who has been held in Danish custody since his extradition from Dubai in 2023.
The case forms part of a wider investigation into dividend tax refund schemes that cost Denmark an estimated DKK12.7bn. Two other traders have been convicted in connection with the scandal, including former Solo Capital associate Anthony Mark Patterson, who received an eight-year sentence in 2024. The appeal is scheduled to involve 23 court hearings, with a verdict expected in spring 2027.
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