DENMARK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Simon Evers Hjelmborg, Christian Monberg, Linn Dyrgaard Stinus and Ann Sophie Juul Hird, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab
The consultancy case On 18 January 2024, the Eastern High Court of Denmark delivered a verdict in a significant cor - ruption case involving a former head of depart - ment (the “Department Head”) at a public author - ity (the “Authority”) and a private consultant (the “Consultant”). The case, originally decided by the Copenhagen City Court, was appealed by the prosecution, leading to this final judgment. The Department Head and the Consultant were accused of engaging in corrupt practic - es between 2012 and 2015. The Department Head was charged with accepting bribes total - ling approximately DKK630,000 (approximately EUR85,000) from the Consultant, who, in turn, was charged with offering these bribes. The pay - ments were made under the guise of consulting fees for work allegedly performed by the Depart - ment Head for the Consultant’s company. The High Court found both defendants guilty. It was established that the Department Head, while holding a significant position at the Author - ity, received payments from the Consultant for consulting services which were intended to secure favourable treatment for the Consultant’s company in securing contracts with the Author - ity and were thus considered bribes.
The court noted that the consulting work per - formed by the Department Head was often trivial and did not justify the high fees paid. Furthermore, the Department Head’s workload at the Authority was already extensive, making it implausible that she could have legitimately performed the additional consulting work for the Consultant. The court considered the close per - sonal relationship between the two defendants, which included shared activities outside of work, further suggesting a conflict of interest and a breach of professional integrity. The court emphasised that the actions of both defendants violated Sections 122 and 144 of the Danish Criminal Code which address bribery and corruption. The Department Head was sen - tenced to eight months in prison, with six months suspended, while the Consultant received a six-month suspended sentence. Additionally, the Department Head was ordered to forfeit DKK150,000 (approximately EUR20,000), repre - senting the estimated illicit gains from the cor - rupt activities. The judgment sheds light on the mechanisms of corruption within public administration, illustrat - ing how the abuse of personal relationships and financial incentives can lead to serious violations of the Criminal Code.
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