Malta Casino Malta lost some of that money after a Chinese student spent more than $1 and at least one Turk spent more than $20 million in a year without proof of funds. increase.The country's Financial Intelligence and Analysis Unit (FIAU) has billed the casino for failing to follow anti-money laundering (AML) and due diligence rules.
Malta is a major hub for online gaming, but this alone does not prove its financial soundness.The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had put Malta on a gray list until last June, worrying it wasn't doing enough to keep financial transactions healthy.
Casino Malta's new fines seem to indicate that Malta still has work to do. Casino operator Eden Leisure Gaming must pay €23 ($3000) amid allegations of AML failures, bribery and tax evasion by some users, according to Malta Today. is.
Anything?
FIAU has found inconsistencies in the casino after a deep investigation into the casino's operations.Among them, it was revealed that some customers spent more than €1 (US$200,000) in one year and lost more than a third of it.Even if the customer was a student with ties to China, the casino did not take any precautions.
Another gambler spent over €3 million (US$200 million) in three years without question.The money came from a legitimate bank, but the casino never confirmed the transaction.This gambler has lost nearly half of it.
Also, the self-proclaimed Turkish CEO enjoyed regular visits.He has withdrawn more than €100 million (US$105 million) in cash from more than half a dozen bank accounts.Casino Malta did not attempt to verify his background.
Some of these cases date back several years, and Eden Leisure may have streamlined operations since then.But according to FIAU, it's still not enough.
One player said he registered at the casino in 2015 and was a self-employed construction worker.He has been able to gamble for years, even though a court judge has frozen his bank account.This man was allegedly a drug trafficker, and Casino Malta knew it.Still, the property did not file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) against him as required by FIAU rules.
There were also "politically exposed figures" that Lexis Nexis describes as "easily involved in bribery and corruption."The casino welcomed the unidentified person with open arms when they registered their property in 2015.
It wasn't until 2019 that the casino realized he was facing bribery and tax evasion charges at the time.Even after his discovery, Casino Malta never filed a STR for his activities.
internal failure
It may not be that Casino Malta has maliciously avoided following the rules.That may be because its management did not want to allocate enough resources to deal with responsible gambling protocols.
Casino Malta has its own Money Laundering Reporter (MRLO).But the person in charge had a lot of work to do.It was impossible to properly supervise all of the customer checks.
Even if MRLO had been able to handle it, it wouldn't have been such a big problem. FIAU said the casino failed to provide a course of action for individuals to take as a result of questionable behavior.
About 10% of casino player profiles reviewed by regulators did not include any kind of permanent residency, as required.Some even listed the hotel as their home.In addition, 6% listed an address that does not exist.
In addition, 20% of profiles verified by FIAU were approved without any background checks.As a result, MRLO decided that they were overworked and needed help.
Now it is about to come true. FIAU will have the casino take remedial measures and will monitor progress in the future.
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