Defendants in Danish Dividend-Tax Fraud Case Attend Another Hearing in Silence

After a series of canceled hearings, four American and British businessmen returned to Glostrup District Court on Tuesday in a case involving alleged fraud against Denmark’s tax authorities.

The defendants, two Americans and two Britons, sat in court but were still not ready to answer questions. Prosecutors had hoped to question British defendant Rajen Shah, but his lawyer could not say when Shah would be prepared. The lawyer, Peter Trudsø, stressed that Shah would speak in the case eventually.

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So the day has finally arrived when we managed to gather everyone again.

American defendant Jerome Lhôte is expected to be ready for questioning on Oct. 22, while British defendant Anupe Dhorajiwala is expected to testify in November. It remains unclear when the other American defendant, Matthew Stein, will speak. The Britons are held in pretrial detention and guarded in court. The Americans travel from the United States for hearings under an arrangement requiring them to deposit their passports with a Danish authority in the United States.

The case concerns alleged fraud involving dividend-tax refunds. Stein and Lhôte face accusations involving 1.1 billion kroner, while the allegations against Shah and Dhorajiwala involve 306 million kroner. All four deny wrongdoing. The proceedings continued with the presentation of evidence, including applications submitted to Danish tax authorities seeking dividend-tax refunds. Hearings are scheduled through June next year, with witnesses expected after the defendants testify.

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It is not that Rajen will not make a statement in this case. I want to emphasize that.