An American man, wanted in Denmark in connection with a PS1.3bn tax matter has been taken into custody in Dubai. He now faces extradition.

After signing a March agreement that allowed for extradition from the United Arab Emirates, Sanjay Shah was arrested as a hedge fund trader.

Interviews with journalists over the past 52 years have shown that the 52-year old maintained his innocence while living in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah archipelago. However, he never made any public statements in Denmark.

In a tweet, Jeppe Kofod, Danish foreign minister, stated that “We will push to an extradition as quickly as possible.”

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It wasn’t immediately clear whether Shah was represented by a lawyer in the UAE.

Dubai, the commercial capital and seven-sheikhdom federal of the UAE, has not yet had a court date. Prosecutors did not immediately respond.

This appeal comes after the Danish tax authority won an appeal before UK courts. The appeal was made following an earlier judge’s refusal to hear the case in Britain, claiming that it wasn’t the right place to file a foreign tax claim.

Shah’s former spokesperson, Solo Capital Partners’ founder, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shah was the director of a center for autistic children in Dubai, which was shut down by Denmark in 2020.

He was also the founder of Autism Rocks, a British charity that raises funds by arranging performances by top performers.

According to Jamal Al Jallaf, a Dubai police officer, the Emirate received an international warrant for Shah’s arrest from Denmark.

Brig Gen Al Jallaf stated in a statement Shah was accused in a fraud in which foreign companies allegedly pretended to have shares in Danish companies in order to claim tax refunds that they weren’t eligible for.

Brig Gen Al Jallaf stated that the fraud scheme known as “cum-ex” trading involved the submission of thousands of applications to Denmark’s Treasury on behalf investors and companies from around the globe in order to receive dividend taxes refunds.

According to Danish authorities, the scheme was in place for three years starting in 2012.

The justice and foreign ministers of Denmark praised Dubai’s arrest. Shah was described by them in a joint statement, as an aggressor of the country’s prosecutors.

Shah is one of many suspects in the tax scheme that Danish authorities are seeking. It has been described as the biggest fraud case in Danish history.