Last week, DR published an article stating that the Copenhagen District Court had detained Christopher Clausen, 47, head of the Danish Foreign Legion, on charges of fraud related to supporting Danes fighting in Ukraine. The organization had been working since the spring of 2022 to provide Danish fighters in Ukraine with emergency aid and equipment. According to the court document from the constitutional inquiry, the prosecutor stated that Clausen had previously been convicted of fraud. In December 2021, he received a two-year, six-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay 3.4 million Danish kroner in compensation. He was also barred from establishing businesses, serving as a director, or holding board positions for two years.
The new charge states that Christopher Clausen “caused illusions, encouraged or exploited delusions on the part of the victims” in connection with his voluntary work as president of the association. According to the police, the incidents occurred between March 8, 2022 and October 10, 2022, and the association president is accused of defrauding 15 people.
Reports filed with the police for non-delivery of equipment
The source stated before the end of last year that several people reported the head of the association to the police, one of whom was a customer who paid 15,300 Danish kroner to the association to buy three jackets and three helmets and wanted to send them himself to the Danish fighters in Ukraine, but he did not receive the equipment and did not get his money back despite countless reminders, according to him.
According to the court document issued from Tuesday's constitutional hearing, Christopher Clausen acknowledged receiving payments but also said that many customers received what they paid for, and that the reason some people did not receive goods was that the volunteer work had become too tiring.
In another case, the association raised funds to support the return of the remains of a 25-year-old Dane who died in Ukraine at the end of last April.
But according to DR's information, the Dane's body has not been identified or buried in either Denmark or Ukraine. In the event of an excess amount during the collection, the funds should be allocated to the relatives of the deceased and should appear on the website of the collection committee that approved the collection work for the association, but the relatives have not received a single kroner from the association.
Where is the money raised by the association spent?
Christopher Clausen explained during the inquiry that the funds he collected and received as president of the association went towards the association's work, including pocket money for soldiers and equipment distributed to Danish volunteers fighting in Ukraine. According to the court's book on the constitutional inquiry, Christopher stated that he could document all of this based on the accounts. However, Christopher Clausen refused to provide the documents when interviewed by DR in December 2022, when asked how the association's funds were used: “They did everything possible. They went to their relatives, for clothes, and for many things. After all, it wasn't just for relatives; the money went to many things.” He stated that he could easily document all of this, yet refused to email the documents to DR, saying, “The names we have and the people we donate to, you don't know. It simply doesn't cross your mind.”.
The court remanded Christopher Clausen in custody for 27 days.
