{"id":142549,"date":"2020-07-22T16:14:15","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T23:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=142549"},"modified":"2020-07-23T10:13:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T17:13:18","slug":"gvc-probed-by-uk-tax-authorities-over-potential-corporate-offending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gvc-probed-by-uk-tax-authorities-over-potential-corporate-offending\/","title":{"rendered":"GVC Probed by UK Tax Authorities Over \u2018Potential Corporate Offending\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Online gaming giant GVC is facing an investigation by UK tax authorities into its controversial Turkish operations<\/a>, which were off-loaded prior to its acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral in 2017.<\/p>\n

\"GVC
GVC\u2019s Turkish ops are once again under scrutiny, just days after the resignation of the company\u2019s CEO Kenny Alexander. (Image: Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GVC said Tuesday that it had been informed by Her Majesty\u2019s Customs and Excise (HMRC) that a probe into the third parties used by the operator to process payments in Turkey had widened to include \u201cpotential corporate offending\u201d by a subsidiary or subsidiaries of GVC.<\/p>\n

HMRC had not identified the potential offenses, but had cited a UK law prohibiting bribery to gain commercial advantage, GVC said. The authority approached GVC last November to request documents related to its Turkish operations.<\/p>\n

GVC [is] surprised by the decision to extend the investigation in this way and are disappointed by the lack of clarity provided by HMRC as to the scope of its investigation,\u201d<\/strong> the company said Tuesday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The news comes just days after GVC CEO Kenny Alexander announced he would step down from the company after 13 years at the helm to spend \u201cmore time with family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 51-year-old Scotsman, who transformed GVC into one of the biggest gambling companies in the world, was gone at the close of business on Friday, 24 hours after the announcement.<\/p>\n

\u20ac150 Million Freebie<\/strong><\/h2>\n

GVC off-loaded its Turkish operations for free to grease the skids on its \u00a33.6 billion ($4.6 billion) acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral, Britain\u2019s biggest retail betting company.<\/p>\n

Online gambling is strictly controlled in Turkey, with only the state-owned sports betting allowed to take bets over the internet, which made GVC a gray-market operator — to put it charitably.<\/p>\n

And while highly profitable, the Turkish operations could have jeopardized the bigger prize, the Ladbrokes deal, giving regulators or potential financial backers pause for thought.<\/p>\n

\n

Today, 94 percent of GVC\u2019s business comes from legal, regulated markets. But in 2016, the Turkish arm was generating more than 12 percent of the group\u2019s revenues — some \u00a3100 million ($116 million).<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Which is why eyebrows were raised when the company decided to waive the \u20ac150 million ($174 million) fee it had initially wanted for the business. The beneficiary of the deal, a company called Rospo Malta, was later revealed<\/a> to have been part-owned by an associate and business partner of Alexander’s, Ron Watts.<\/p>\n

The GVC board said last year that the deal had been \u201csubject to an arms-length competitive process, overseen by Houlihan Lokey investment bank\u201d and was \u201cfully disclosed to the relevant authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grilling in Nevada<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When, in 2019, GVC applied for a license to operate in Nevada, state regulators grilled its representatives<\/a>, including Alexander, about the Turkish operations. These included allegations it had used a company employed by porn websites and debt collectors to hide payments.<\/p>\n

Nevada Gaming Control Board member Terry Johnson complained that the Turkish division had been so badly run that it was being defrauded by employees, which GVC could do nothing about because it was \u201cengaged in a questionable activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

GVC\u2019s shares fell by almost 15 percent on the London Stock Exchange Tuesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online gaming giant GVC is facing an investigation by UK tax authorities into its controversial Turkish operations, which were off-loaded prior to its acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral in 2017. GVC said Tuesday that it had been informed by Her Majesty\u2019s Customs and Excise (HMRC) that a probe into the third parties used by the operator […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":142556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,19],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGVC probed by UK Tax Authorities Over \u2018Potential Corporate Offending\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"GVC\u2019s former Turkish operations once again become a source of controversy after HMRC broadens investigation, implying corporate offending and bribery.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GVC probed by UK Tax Authorities Over \u2018Potential Corporate Offending\u2019\" \/>\n<meta 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