U.K. Hedge Fund Trader Detained in Germany Over Tax Fraud Probe
U.K. Hedge Fund Trader Detained in Germany Over Tax Fraud Probe
(Bloomberg) --
A hedge fund trader extradited from the U.K. to Germany on Wednesday as part of the country’s sprawling Cum-Ex tax fraud probe is being held in custody after Cologne prosecutors appealed his bail ruling.
The trader is Vijay Sankar, 45, according to a person familiar with the matter. While a local court decided to grant the man bail set at 150,000 euros ($174,100), he will be held until the appeal is resolved, an official for Cologne prosecutors said on Thursday, without disclosing names. Sankar is being held in a pre-trial detention facility in the city’s Ossendorf neighborhood, she said.
Sankar worked at hedge fund Duet Group and lost his fight to stay in the U.K. earlier this year after he was briefly arrested in connection with three alleged tax frauds. His extradition was disclosed in London court filings. He hasn’t been charged with a crime.
Sankar’s U.K. lawyer declined to comment, while his German lawyer didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Germany is investigating more than a thousand suspects as part of the Cum-Ex probe and German prosecutors have already secured the convictions of three former bankers. More than two dozen traders, bankers and lawyers have been charged in the scandal and three trials are currently underway.
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