Two craftsmen were convicted of money laundering by the Glostrup Court on Thursday in a landmark ruling. The court also found them guilty of VAT fraud amounting to DKK 585,000.

The ruling marks the first of four test cases initiated last year by the National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) to clarify whether craftsmen and other self-employed individuals who purchased fictitious invoices from invoice factories are guilty of self-laundering.

The two men, from a construction company in Herlev, paid approximately DKK 3 million for the false invoices and then received cash, which NSK claimed was used to pay for undeclared work.

The court stated that no real services were provided for the invoices, as they had neither rented manpower nor bought materials.

The case stems from a larger complex called “Outpay,” in which several individuals have already been convicted of laundering a total of DKK 350 million through companies like CCS Group, Uniqueva, and RR Staffers, which issued false invoices to over 700 customers.

The men pleaded not guilty, and their defense protested against what they described as a new legal situation, claiming an “evidential deficit” and calling the prosecution’s case a “resource test balloon”.

Initially, the men, aged 42 and 46, were charged with tax evasion and VAT fraud, which require more extensive investigation and evidence than money laundering cases.

The sentence is imprisonment for one year and three months, but the court conditionally suspended it, requiring the men to perform 200 hours of community service due to the unreasonably long processing time of almost six years from the search of their premises to the judgment.