Hughes Hubbard Wins ~$500 Million Jury Trial for Denmark's SKAT in $2.1 Billion Tax Fraud Litigation

Feb. 11, 2025 – Hughes Hubbard secured a sweeping victory on behalf of the Customs and Tax Administration of the Kingdom of Denmark, or Skatteforvaltningen (SKAT), in a landmark jury trial presided over by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

After the five-week trial, the jury found the defendants – four individuals and their 17 pension plans set up as vehicles to defraud the Danish government – liable for fraud, negligence and unjust enrichment, and awarded SKAT ~$500 million in damages. SKAT is the agency of the Danish government charged with assessing and collecting taxes, akin to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

This trial was the first bellwether case in the multidistrict litigation stemming from one of the biggest tax scandals in Europe — an international tax fraud scheme in which individuals and entities used a series of sham LLCs and pension plans to deceive SKAT into paying $2.1 billion in refunds of dividend withholding tax between 2012 and 2015.

"We are extremely pleased with the jury's verdict. This case represents a significant step in SKAT's global efforts to recover stolen funds and hold those responsible accountable. The complexity and scale of this fraud required a dedicated and skilled team, and we are proud to have delivered justice for our client,” Neil Oxford said.

The U.S. litigation is part of SKAT’s worldwide strategy to recover stolen monies through litigation in England, Denmark, Malaysia, Dubai, Canada, the Netherlands and elsewhere. The English and Danish court proceedings have garnered significant media attention due to the magnitude of the fraud, including Denmark’s sentencing of Sanjay Shah, the British hedge fund trader convicted of orchestrating the scheme, in December.

The victory was reported by Bloomberg, Law360, Yahoo Finance and International Tax Review.

Marc Weinstein, Bill Maguire, Neil Oxford and Dustin Smith led the Hughes Hubbard team representing SKAT, with key assistance from Greg Farrell, Carolyn Harbus, Scott Sanders, Jessica Lagnado, John McGoey, Debbie Placid, Elizabeth Zhou, James Henseler, Erin Pamukcu, Kiran Rosenkilde, Richard Bosch and Sean Aiello.