Danish prosecutor files charges against Uber

It has now been established that drivers have been driving in violation of taxi legislation, says chief prosecutor

COPENHAGEN: A Danish prosecutor on Friday filed criminal charges against a Dutch subsidiary of ride-sharing service Uber for operating illegally in Denmark.

A Danish appeals court in November upheld a ruling in which an Uber driver was fined 6,000 kroner (809 euros, $859) for offering services banned in the country. "It has now been established that the drivers have been driving in violation of taxi legislation," chief prosecutor Vibeke Thorkil-Jensen said in a statement. "Therefore we have now charged the company... for being complicit in these illegalities," she said.



The prosecution said it wanted to fine the US-based company's subsidiary in the Netherlands -- where its European headquarters are located -- 30,000 kroner, corresponding to 10,000 kroner per ride in the case in question.

Uber is a cab service company that connects passengers to drivers through an app on its passengers' smartphones. Customers pay Uber directly for the journey and the company, in turn, remunerates drivers. The company in August filed a complaint with the European Union over legislation in Hungary that caused it to stop operating in that country.