Dimitrios Drosos, 45, director of betting company Gold Victory Ltd, has been jailed for 14 months after being convicted of defrauding several people of a total of €500,000.

The court found that the Malta-based company had not paid winnings to several players and the accused had pocketed the money.

€70,000 paid by the accused as bail money were forfeited after it was established that Drosos,a Greek national resident in Kappara, had jumped bail and escaped from Malta.

He was re-arrested on the strength of a European arrest warrant.