The Dubai Court of Cassation upheld the ruling to extradite a Briton accused of tax fraud worth 1.7 billion euros to Denmark, according to the media office of the Gulf emirate's government.

Thus, the highest judicial authority in the Gulf emirate rejects the latest appeal by Sanjay Shah, the investor through a hedge fund whose extradition Denmark requested in June.

Sanjay Shah, 51, is accused of carrying out a fraudulent scheme that began in 2012 and lasted for three years. It was based on foreign companies claiming to own shares in Danish companies to demand tax refunds.

"The Dubai Court of Cassation rejected Sanjay Shah's appeal (...) and upheld the Court of Appeal's decision approving Denmark's request for his extradition on charges of fraud and money laundering," the Attorney General of the Emirate of Dubai, Issam Al-Humaidan, announced in a statement published by the Government of Dubai Media Office on Monday evening.

The Dubai Court of First Instance rejected his extradition request for the first time on September 12, but the Court of Appeal overturned this decision after the Attorney General of the Emirate of Dubai appealed this ruling, and Shah filed a final appeal before the Court of Cassation, which issues final decisions.

Shah maintains his innocence and says he did not violate Danish law, according to Emirati media.

The police said that his arrest took place through close cooperation with the UAE authorities and under a bilateral extradition agreement signed in March 2022.

Shah's lawyer did not want to comment on the Court of Cassation's decision when AFP contacted him.