Professional Swedish clown accused of tax fraud

A 55-year-old professional clown from southern Sweden has been accused of committing serious tax crimes totaling around 700,000 kronor ($100,000).

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While the man works as a clown during the day, officials with Sweden's National Economic Crimes Bureau Day (Ekobrottsmyndigheten), are hoping to help tax authorities get the last laugh after finding that the man 'displaced' hundreds of thousands of kronor.

Amongst his alleged infringements, the clown is suspected of accounting violations, obstruction of tax control checks and tax evasion between 2005 to 2007.

According to prosecutor Thomas Elofsson, the professional clown also submitted false information on his income tax filings and completely neglected to keep any books.

“The charges pertain to his business activities within one particular company. That includes his assignments as a clown and other activities,” Elofsson told the Skånska Dagbladet newspaper.

The 55-year-old entertainer also refused to hire an attorney when he was first called to a hearing on his alleged infringements.

On Monday, the prosecution submitted a proposal to the Malmö District Court to have a public defence attorney assigned to the clown.

“We are only in the introductory stages, so it's hard to say how the case will develop,” Elofsson explained.

The 55-year-old runs his own business with a stake in a handful of different companies.

He and another individual have also established a partnership to keep animals. That particular collaboration ended in the submission of several police reports of forgery and bankruptcy, among other allegations.

The debts racked up by the pair totaled around half a million kronor.

During the forthcoming trial, Elofsson expects that several other related crimes will be added to clown's already hefty list of infringements.