Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/570058
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2015 News 3 MATTHEW AGIUS THE underdog, left-wing rebel backbencher Jeremy Corbyn has won the UK Labour Party's leadership election with 251,417 of first round votes, represent- ing an impressive 59.5% of the total votes cast. Corbyn, who entered the lead- ership contest as a rank out- sider, saw off a challenge from frontbenchers Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall, gaining 40% more than Burn- ham, his nearest rival, who ob- tained 19%. 422,664 party members cast their votes out of the 554,572 eligible voters in the election. Tom Watson was elected deputy leader of the party in the same election. In his victory speech Corbyn thanked previous leader Ed Milliband for his work with the party and expressed admira- tion for his dignity in the face of virulent abuse from the UK me- dia. Corbyn assured the party was "passionate, diverse, united and absolutely determined in our quest for a decent, peaceful democratic society." "The party is going to reach out to everyone, to help offer people a decent start in life, whilst becoming more inclu- sive, more involved, and more democratic. Poverty does not have to be inevitable. Things can, and they will, change," he said, to a standing ovation. He thanked the unions which had supported him, noting that he had started with very lit- tle. "We are a party organically linked together between the un- ions and the affiliated organisa- tions," he said. There are those who see Cor- byn's victory as favouring Con- servative chances in the next general election. Amid claims that opponents had infiltrated Labour's flawed party internal election– which allows anyone to become a "registered sup- porter" with a right to vote in the leadership election – for just £3, many Labour support- ers fear Corbyn's election will result in decades of Conserva- tive rule, putting Labour out of power – potentially for good. The results indicate that the party is changing. The £3 vot- ers are ideologically to the left of registered party members by a significant margin, and had signed up mainly to sup- port Corbyn. Another factor, revealed by the results, is the shrinking influence of labour unions on the party. This is the first time that the number of union members voting is lower than party members – a fact which will have repercussions on future party funding. Corbyn, the 66-year-old left- wing MP for Islington North has been an MP since 1983 and has rebelled more times against the Labour whip in parliament than any other MP. The signs had all pointed to Corbyn winning the leadership contest, with him not only lead- ing the polls, but also securing more constituency party nomi- nations than any of his rivals. Bookmakers PaddyPower had already paid out on a Corbyn victory this morning, before the results were announced. Speaking before Corbyn, Watson had words of warning to "Tories sniggering up their sleeves," thinking that Labour has little chance of winning the next general election. "Watch your backs, we are watching you and we will win in 2020," he said defiantly. Corbyn is Labour leader 'Ndrangheta investigation leads to €25 million asset freeze MIRIAM DALLI SOME €25 million worth of as- sets were frozen by the Calab- rian police after it uncovered more companies and trusts with connections to the 'Ndrang- heta, whose operations related to fraudulent gaming businesses was reportedly based in Malta. In a mafia crackdown, Reg- gio Calabria police's Operation Gambling revealed a network of remote gaming companies alleg- edly used for money laundering. Part of the network was head- quartered in Malta and six Ital- ian nationals were arrested here on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant. As the investigation into the mafia-linked companies contin- ues, the Italian police uncovered a network of international com- panies and trusts whose offices were in Malta, Panama, Roma- nia, the Canary Islands and the Netherlands Antilles – typical offshore havens for businesses seeking to minimise their tax ex- posure. The investigation led to the freezing of assets worth €25 million, in a joint operation be- tween the Italian Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza and Ca- labrian police. The companies and trusts were set up by the criminal organisa- tions to manage illegal online betting, mostly through fiduciar- ies. In Germany and Singapore, close to €1.7 million and €2 mil- lion respectively were seized. The Malta Gaming Authority has suspended the licences of several gaming companies – at least six falling under the BetU- niq brand – following an Ital- ian investigation over suspected links to the 'Ndrangheta. Some of the companies were licensed both in Malta and Italy. Three Italian companies which had their licences suspended by the MGA are now threatening to sue the authority for millions of euros in damages. Uniq Group Limited (Betuniq), Betsolution4U Ltd, and FenPlay are challenging the decision and are holding the gaming authority liable for any damage the compa- nies will suffer as a consequence of the suspension. Its lawyers are said to be threatening to sue for millions if the investigation yields no results. FenPlay is represented by Na- tionalist Party deputy leader Mario de Marco and his sister Giannella de Marco; Uniq Group Limited is represented by Ian Refalo and Joe Giglio; while Bet- solution4U Ltd is represented by Roberto Montalto. In July, six Italian men – in- cluding Mario Gennaro, the Italian man who ran the money laundering operation in Malta through a network of remote gaming companies – were ex- tradited after the Malta police acted on a European Arrest Warrant. The others were Mar- gherita Giudetti, 34, Francesco Ripepi, 38, Alessandro Ciaffi, 40, Rocco Ripepi, 36 and Fortunato Stracuzzi, 37. The men were connected to the Betuniq brand. Newly elected UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn celebrating his leadership election with his deputy, Tom Watson (left)