A collaboration with the Danish authorities to arrest and extradite British financial trader Sanjay Shah is a clear sign of the UAE’s commitment to disrupt organised crime, the justice minister has said.
Mr Shah, 52, has denied being a key player in a $1.7-billion tax refund scheme that is alleged to have defrauded the Danish state.
The ‘cum-ex’ trading scheme ran for three years from 2012. Foreign businesses pretend to own shares in Danish companies and claim ineligible tax refunds.
Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice, said the arrest delivers a clear message on international collaboration on law enforcement.
"International crime requires an international response,” he said in a statement to state news agency Wam.
“The arrest of Sanjay Shah, following receipt of an international arrest warrant from the Danish authorities, sends a clear signal of the UAE’s intent to work in close collaboration with international partners in pursuit of international crime.
“For the past two years, UAE authorities have worked closely with their Danish counterparts to compile a strong body of evidence in this case.
“There have been 25 legal assistance requests between the UAE and Denmark that have been executed on this particular issue.”
The alleged fraud is one of the largest such cases in Denmark’s history.
Mr Shah, who lived on The Palm Jumeirah, claimed he was operating within the boundaries of Danish law and denies the charges.
“The UAE’s commitment to collaboration is also symbolised in the general extradition treaty signed with Denmark in March 2022,” Mr Al Nuaimi said.
This is one of 37 treaties put in place in recent years and the UAE intends to sign more.
“Through the robust, collaborative structure of partnership, the UAE is determined to disrupt organised crime in all its forms to protect the UAE and uphold the integrity of the international financial system.”
At least 145 international fugitives were arrested and brought to justice in the Emirates last year, thanks to co-operation between national governments, anti-crime agencies and Interpol, a Ministry of Justice newsletter revealed in February.
Arrests included that of Leon Cullen, one of Britain’s most wanted criminals, extradited to the UK in February 2021 after two years on the run in Dubai.
Cullen, 33, was returned to the UK in a joint operation with UAE police, Britain’s National Crime Agency and Interpol. He was sentenced to 22 and half years for his role at the head of a crime gang responsible for supplying drugs and firearms.
Another high-profile arrest included that of Raffaele Imperiale, an alleged Naples crime lord who was arrested at his luxury villa in Dubai.
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
Scores in brief:
- New Medical Centre 129-5 in 17 overs bt Zayed Cricket Academy 125-6 in 20 overs.
- William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana 188-8 in 20 overs bt One Stop Tourism 184-8 in 20 overs
- Alubond Tigers 138-7 in 20 overs bt United Bank Limited 132-7 in 20 overs
- Multiplex 142-6 in 17 overs bt Xconcepts Automobili 140 all out in 20 overs
The specs
Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 552Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
