16 people, 3 cos charged in $76 mn Danish fraud case

Sixteen people and three companies have been charged in Denmark with tax fraud and receiving stolen goods worth up to a combined 500 million Danish crowns ($76 million), Copenhagen police said on Wednesday.

The case adds to the string of economic crime scandals in the Nordic country, including a large dividend tax stripping scheme and a money laundering case involving the country's largest bank, Danske Bank.

Police said several of the people charged were related and had been using a chain of companies to channel money with the purpose of tax avoidance.

It is one of the most extensive cases ever in Denmark, police told Reuters.

Several arrests were made on Oct. 10 last year and five people were currently in custody. 

(With inputs from agencies.)