A judge at Københavns Byret has ordered 12 people with Chinese backgrounds held in pretrial custody in a case involving alleged money laundering of 121 million kroner and VAT fraud of 23 million kroner.
The ruling came on Friday, August 28, after a preliminary hearing that stretched over close to 19 hours in total. DR reports that seven women and four men who were arrested must be remanded in custody. The court also ordered the detention of a twelfth person, a woman believed to be abroad.
The charges cover both money laundering and VAT fraud under Danish tax law. According to DR, the alleged offenses took place partly through two luxury goods stores. Expensive items such as bags were traded fictitiously to disguise the origin of large sums believed to come from crime.
Eleven of those arrested were brought into the specially secured courtroom in Københavns Byret’s facilities next to Vestre Fængsel on Thursday morning. The hearing began shortly before 10:00 a.m., and the court adjourned at 4:30 a.m. on Friday. Proceedings resumed at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, when the judge delivered the decision.
As reported by DR, the judge outlined only the broad grounds for the detention. The judge found reasonable suspicion that the accused are guilty and that the conditions for custody were otherwise met. Police material from surveillance, wiretapping and searches convinced the judge that the basis for suspicion was sufficient.
Arrests earlier in the week
According to DR, the woman who is not in Denmark is described in the charges as playing a central role. She founded the company through which the alleged crime took place, back in 2016. One of the accused women broke down in tears as the ruling was read out.
TV 2 reported earlier in the week that 13 Chinese nationals and one Dane were arrested on August 26 in the same investigation. That reporting referred to suspicion of more than 100 million kroner in laundering and 24 million kroner in VAT fraud.
Politiken also reported the August 26 arrests. According to that account, two of the suspects worked in a luxury store, and designer bags were used in the laundering scheme.
All of the accused deny guilt, DR reports. They are considering whether to appeal the custody ruling to Østre Landsret. For now, they are to remain in custody until September 9.
The hearing was held behind closed doors in the secured courtroom at Vestre Fængsel. The judge did not detail the individual roles attributed to each of the accused.
