The National Serious Crime Unit (NSK) arrested three men on Wednesday and charged them with tax evasion, VAT evasion, and money laundering involving a total of three million Danish kroner. Two of the men were scheduled to appear at a constitutional hearing on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Danish National Police.
On Tuesday, the NSK unit carried out an arrest and search operation in a large-scale economic crime case under the guise of car importation.
During the operation, three men, aged 29, 30 and 37 respectively, were arrested and charged with facilitating tax and VAT evasion of slightly more than 27 million Danish kroner and money laundering of nearly 200 million Danish kroner.
The NSK suspects that, through a complex network of intermediary companies, they targeted the importation of vehicles from abroad without declaring VAT or without declaring the correct amount. The NSK also suspects that the defendants used falsified invoices to launder the proceeds of their crimes.
The case has been under investigation by NSK since the beginning of 2024 based on a report from the Danish Tax Agency.
The arrests and searches were carried out in cooperation with the Danish Tax Authority and the Danish Customs Authority, and took place at business and private addresses in North Zealand and Copenhagen.
NSK Police Commissioner Jonas Steiner Berthelssen stated in the press release: “Thanks to the actions we took today, we in the NSK unit have stopped what we suspect to be an active fraud operation involving the importation of cars from abroad for large sums of money. Through arrests and searches, we obtained physical and digital evidence for further investigation into the case, as well as a wide range of valuables, including several cars, watches, luxury furniture, large bank deposits, and cash.”.
The two men, aged 30 and 37, are scheduled to appear at a constitutional inquiry hearing at Hillerood Magistrates' Court tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9:15 a.m., with a remand hearing requested. The NSK police unit will request a closed session at the constitutional inquiry. The 29-year-old man was released after questioning.
What is an NSK unit?
The National Serious Crime Unit (NSK) is a national unit that brings together the most specialized expertise in the police and prosecution service. This applies to organized crime, financial crimes, and cybercrime, as well as investigative support. The NSK has a special prosecutor's office that handles the unit's criminal cases.
The complex cases that NSK investigates and prosecutes may include, for example, organized money laundering, organized tax evasion, gang crime, organized drug crime, and digital crime.
The NSK unit also supports the entire Danish police force with specialist expertise in areas such as forensics, IT investigations, analysis and intelligence work.
The investigations and prosecutions carried out by the National Crime Unit target cases where crime causes the greatest harm to society and where efforts have the greatest impact, so that the unit better protects Denmark against the greatest criminal threats in the short and long term.
The NSK unit employs approximately 1,200 people. Its headquarters are in Ejby, near Glostrup, and it also has locations in Aarhus, Fredericia, Randers, and København, as well as a temporary site in Silkeborg.
Source: Danish National Police
