Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

English High Court rejects Skat’s £1.4bn cum-ex fraud case: failure to prove misrepresentation, reliance and causation; unjust enrichment, knowing receipt and dishonest assistance claims collapse

Published on: 08 October 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

On 2 October 2025, High Court judge Andrew Baker held that the Danish Customs and Tax Administration — Skatteforvaltningen, or Skat — was not deceived into issuing thousands of wrongful repayments of dividend taxes that had never been paid, arising from so-called cum-ex arrangements. Nicola McKinney, a partner at Quillon Law, described the result as a 'bruising defeat for Skat', likely to prompt scrutiny of whether Skat’s legal team framed the case too narrowly and why it then collapsed when tested against England’s rules on fraudulent misrepresentation. She added that questions are likely about the limits of the law of fraudulent misrepresentation and the scope of Skat’s claim. Denmark’s proceedings were built on the contention that it had been defrauded by Shah and his hedge fund, Solo Capital Partners, who induced Skat to release funds to investors outside the country who falsely asserted they were shareholders in Danish companies. That misrepresentation enabled those investors to seek a dividend tax reimbursement from Skat to which they had no entitlement. These 'cum-ex schemes' exploit flaws within European tax systems by capitalising on the manner in which companies distribute dividends to their shareholders across European countries...

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