Denmark Seeks $134 Million From 9 Banks in Dividend Case
Denmark Seeks $134 Million From 9 Banks as Dividend Case Widens
(Bloomberg) --
Denmark’s tax authority said it’s seeking a total of about 900 million kroner ($134 million) in compensation from nine foreign banks that it says were party to the illegal distribution of tax refunds tied to dividend payments.
The action follows a deeper review of documents that led in December to the Danish Tax Agency seeking compensation from one bank, according to a statement on the agency’s website. Lawyers have gone through the material and have concluded that the other lenders were involved, the agency said, without naming the banks.
Earlier this week, Danish prosecutors seized a London mansion worth about 130 million kroner as part of their investigations into the global dividend fraud scheme. Denmark was among countries targeted for years by foreign investors who exploited loopholes to receive tax rebates. Denmark estimates it lost around 12 billion kroner as a result.
The tax agency already last year raised compensation demands against one bank, and after review of the material broadened its demands to seek 880 million kroner from eight other lenders, according to the statement. The amounts vary from bank to bank, from 14 million kroner to 224 million kroner, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Frances Schwartzkopff in Copenhagen at fschwartzko1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo
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