DistantNews
Support us
Danish Tax Agency Apologizes for Errors in Identity Theft Cases
🇩🇰 Denmark /Crime & Justice

Danish Tax Agency Apologizes for Errors in Identity Theft Cases

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • The Danish Tax Agency acknowledged errors in cases involving 126 people who faced tax proceedings over transfers from five money-transfer companies.
  • An internal review found that the agency should have acted earlier on police warnings about suspected widespread identity theft.
  • Director Thomas Hjortenberg apologized and said the agency would help affected citizens recover their money, while Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt sharply criticized its handling of the cases.

The Danish Tax Agency has acknowledged that its mistakes left citizens trapped in tax cases involving identity theft and erroneous claims for millions of kroner.

Director Thomas Hjortenberg apologized in a press release after the agency completed a review requested by Tax and Growth Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt. “We made mistakes that meant a group of citizens ended up in a serious predicament,” Hjortenberg said. “Our mistakes had major personal consequences for the affected citizens.”

We made mistakes that meant a group of citizens ended up in a serious predicament. Our mistakes had major personal consequences for the affected citizens.

— Thomas HjortenbergThe Danish Tax Agency director acknowledged the agency’s errors in a press release accompanying its review.

The review concerns 126 people investigated over money transfers from five money-transfer companies. The cases involved citizens who had allegedly been exposed to identity theft in money-laundering investigations. The TV 2 program “Operation X” reported on some of those cases in June, in an episode titled “Flået af Skat.”

The review clearly shows that we should have acted differently and much earlier than we did. It is in no way good enough, and I sincerely apologize to the citizens who were affected.

— Thomas HjortenbergHjortenberg apologized for the agency’s handling of the identity theft cases.

According to the review, the agency should have responded as early as 2023 to police information indicating suspected widespread identity theft. It also should have taken further steps in 2024 and 2025 to clarify the cases with police. The review calls the failure to act on the information a mistake.

Hjortenberg said the agency could not change what the affected citizens had experienced, but promised to focus on helping them and returning their money as quickly as possible. Engel-Schmidt condemned the treatment, describing it as “tear-inducing” and among the worst cases he had seen. He said the agency had received several concrete warnings, including from Copenhagen Police and tax appeals boards, yet continued without adequately addressing the consequences.

The treatment these people received from the Danish Tax Agency is tear-inducing. It is one of the worst cases I have seen.

— Jakob Engel-SchmidtThe tax and growth minister sharply criticized the agency’s conduct.
About this summary

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog