Danish prosecutors said on Wednesday that they would not appeal a prison sentence of six-and-a-half years for a former employee of a Danish state Welfare Agency convicted of stealing millions.
The Copenhagen city court found Britta Nielsen, 65, guilty of multiple counts of cheating the National Board of Social Services, and of having transferred at least 117 million kroner (or 17 million dollars) to her own accounts.
According to the court, the offence was committed for a period of 25 years. Nielsen’s sentence, therefore, stands.
Her lawyer said that Nielsen accepted the sentence and was relieved that the trial was over.
The State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime said that the sentence was at the high end of sentences handed down in financial crime cases in Denmark, and the prosecution, therefore, accepted the ruling.
The swindled agency supports local authorities and funds programmes for vulnerable groups including children and youth.
The scam was detected at the end of September 2018, during an audit.
Some of the embezzled funds were used to buy property in South Africa and expensive cars.
Nielsen was extradited to Denmark from South Africa in Nov. 2018.
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