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Court fines Danish Uber driver half a million kroner

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Court fines Danish Uber driver half a million kroner
File photo: Thomas Lekfeldt/Scanpix Denmark

The Østre Landsret high court has issued fines amounting to hundred of thousands of Danish kroner to four former Uber drivers for illegally operating taxi services.

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One of the men received a fine of 486,500 kroner (65,300 euros) for 5,428 Uber journeys in 2015. The others received fines of 110,000 kroner (14,700 euros), 60,000 kroner (8,000 euros) and 40,000 kroner (5,300 euros).

The court ruled against issuing the harsher penalties requested by the prosecution, reports Ritzau.

“I am satisfied with the verdict given that the prosecution was upheld with regard to the charges brought in all four cases,” senior prosecutor Morten Ebbe Nielsen said.

The case is significant because it potentially sets a precedent for the use of information from tax authorities in the Netherlands, where Uber’s European head office is based, in legal cases against former drivers with the app-based service.

The outcome of Tuesday’s case could potentially result in a large number of cases in Denmark.

Information from Uber gives details of around 1,500 individuals who drove for the company in 2015, including bank details, how many trips they made and how much they earned.

Uber has voluntarily handed over the information as part of an audit.

Defence lawyers in the case have spoken against the use of tax details in criminal proceedings.

“We are naturally disappointed with the result, but note that a unanimous high court agrees with the district court and has upheld the verdict with the same fines on the same basis,” defence lawyer Eddie Omar Rosenberg Khawaja, who represented all four drivers, said.

Uber ceased operating in Denmark in 2017.

READ ALSO: Uber halts services in Denmark after new taxi law

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