Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/936285
maltatoday SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2018 News 19 Mafia betting boss arrested, Malta's regulator suspends gaming licence MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S gaming regulator has suspended the licence of an online gambling operator linked to an Italian anti-mafia police action. On Friday, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) announced that it had suspended the remote gam- ing licence of Phoenix Internation- al Ltd, which operated several on- line betting sites, including B2875. com, Bsport24.com and B28sport. com, none of which are currently accessible. The suspension follows Thurs- day's raids on dozens of internet cafés by Italian police, in a Paler- mo-centred anti-mafia operation dubbed Game Over. Among the 23 individuals arrested on Thursday was B2875 owner Benedetto Bac- chi, the so-called 'betting king' who reportedly controlled a network of 700 betting shops across Italy. Bacchi's betting shops – offi- cially 'data transmission centres' or CTDs – featured terminals that connected to the Malta-licensed Phoenix gambling sites. The unauthorised operations reportedly generated undeclared revenue of €1 million each month, with a chunk of that sum allegedly kicked back to Cosa Nostra mem- bers. "It is evident that such results would have never been achieved without the crucial intervention of the mafia association which forced betting agencies operating in its heartlands to market Bac- chi's gambling platforms," a police statement said. The statement also explained that in exchange for this kind of "promotion," Bacchi would "trans- fer in the coffers of the Cosa Nos- tra between 300,000 and 800,000 euros every year." The system made so much mon- ey, investigators said, that in a short time Bacchi started looking at new business opportunities to reinvest the gambling proceeds. He acquired a construction company and bought the villa of a former Palermo Football Club player for 500,000 euros. Bacchi also report- edly considered taking over a local news publication, Live Sicilia. Through a businessman close to Bacchi, the Cosa Nostra also alleg- edly set up a profitable food export to the United States. "I'll give you these tomatoes for 17.50 euros and you have to flood New York with them," the alleged boss, Francesco Nania, was record- ed saying in a wiretapped conver- sation. "The mafia changes its skin and, in this case, it makes deals with businessmen capable of securing them big profits," said the head of the Palermo police, Rodolfo Ru- perti, chief officer of Palermo Po- lice. The MGA's suspension notice ordered Phoenix to "indefinitely suspend all gaming operations, cease to register new players, sus- pend all transactions on all web- sites, including deposits and with- drawals, and submit all data and documentation requested by the Authority." The MGA further warned the public that any Phoenix-related sites that continue to claim to be operating under an MGA licence were doing so without the MGA's authorisation. The MGA said no further info would be released so as not to compromise any current or future investigations into the al- leged criminality. Bacchi and many of his co-ac- cused appeared in court on Friday to be formally charged with mon- ey laundering, mafia association, fraud and numerous other offens- es. Bacchi declined to speak during his hearing, Gonzi statement The Maltese lawyer David Gonzi, son of former prime minister Law- rence Gonzi, issued a statement saying that his company GVM Holdings had offered fiduciary ser- vices to Phoenix but the relation- ship was terminated on 30 October 2016. "The shares in the company have since that date been held directly by the shareholder. GVM Hold- ings is a licensed fiduciary com- pany providing fiduciary services in terms of the Trusts and Trustees Act. I hold a one third-sharehold- ing in GVM Holdings and was appointed as the third director of GVM Holdings on the 2nd Decem- ber 2014. As from December 2015, GVM has been winding down its activities and has since sent termi- nation letters to all its clients." Gonzi was already associated with the Betuniq bust in Malta, but was cleared from the list of potential suspects in Operation Gambling, an investigation into money laundering by the 'Ndrang- heta criminal organisation. Gonzi's GVM Holdings had also given the Italians fiduciary services. Benedetto Bacchi, who was arrested on Thursday, reportedly controlled a network of 700 betting shops across Italy