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Newspaper post YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY €1.40 MATTHEW VELLA THE Italian who ran a money laun- dering operation in Malta through a network of remote gaming compa- nies, had already been flagged as an associate of the Calabrian 'Ndrang- heta back in 2011. Mario Gennaro, 39, was arrested last week together with several other associates on the strength of a Eu- ropean Arrest Warrant, following a bust led by anti-mafia police from Reggio Calabria, home of the feared, international criminal organisation. But despite Gennaro having al- ready been outed as an associate of the Tegano clan, or 'ndrina, neither the Malta Gaming Authority nor GVM Holdings – the company that gave the Betuniq group fiduciary services to hide their owners' identi- ties – flagged the criminal elements funnelling millions through Malta's remote gaming industry. The Betuniq group's ties to the 'Ndrangheta were revealed during a Palermo tribunal on 26 May, 2014, that had condemned several mem- bers of the Noce clan of the Sicilian Mafia to a total of 300 years' impris- onment. Gennaro was then exposed to have been running Betuniq's network of gaming shops in Reggio Calabria and in those neighbourhoods con- trolled by the 'Ndrangheta penetra- tion. But even earlier, in 2011, in a seizure order issued by the Reggio Calabria anti-mafia unit, Gennaro was described as being "tied to Fran- co Benestaro, deputy head of the Tegano 'ndrina". "In his lifetime Gennaro has at- tracted the attention of inquiring magistrates for his relations with the Tegano 'ndrina," the Italian newspa- per Il Sole 24 Ore reported in July 2014. Mario Gennaro was associated as early as 2011 with a clan underboss but still managed to get Betuniq a Maltese gaming licence PAGE 6 maltatoday THE MALTATODAY SURVEY PAGES 16-17 Tattoos, fitness and gym attendance, and how we like men and women to look SUNDAY • 2 AUGUST 2015 • ISSUE 821 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Ndrangheta man already known in 2011 August 2015 - Issue 68 www.vida.com.mt STEVE HILI IS ALMOST FAMOUS TEAM GLAM That 70's style TRAINING FOR BODY TYPES Ectomorph vs endomorph FREE WITH MALTATODAY Gonzi brushes off European arrest warrant threat JURGEN BALZAN DAVID Gonzi, the son of former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi, has shrugged off the possibility of being slapped with a European ar- rest warrant. Last week, Gonzi was identified in Operation Gambling's 750-page dossier as having been a one-third shareholder and director in GVM Holdings, a company that provides fiduciary services to gaming com- panies who have had their licences suspended by the Malta Gaming Authority. This came after the Italian po- lice busted the Calabrian ma- fia 'Ndrangheta's base in Malta from where companies they set up ran a network of remote gam- ing companies involved in mon- ey laundering. In total 41 people were served with an arrest warrant, includ- ing six Italian nationals resident in Malta. Asked whether he was aware of the possibility that he might also be deported to Italy if the Calab- rian police issue a European ar- rest warrant, Gonzi said he was informed otherwise since he is not on the list of people under investigation (indagati). Gonzi is one of the 128 persons of inter- est named in the 750-page dossier com- piled by the Italian police but the law yer insisted "I am informed by my Italian counterparts that I am not formally in- vestigated because I'm not accused of having breached any particular article." Adding that so far he has not been con- tacted by the Italian police, Gonzi reiter- ated "I will be getting in touch with the Italian police in the very near future." PAGE 8 PN deputy leader Mario de Marco among lawyers challenging Malta Gaming Authority decision to suspend licences of Italian gaming companies David Gonzi