The links that emerged last week between Maltese companies and money-laundering by the Mafia are not the end of the story, industry insiders have warned.

Six Maltese companies had their assets seized last Wednesday after the Italian police swooped on illegal gaming activities linked to the Calabrian mafia ‘Ndrangheta, following an international operation.

Three gaming licences linked to two of the companies – Uniq Group (Betuniq) and Betsolution4u – were withdrawn by the Malta Gaming Authority after the news emerged.

Yesterday, two Italian lawyers were arrested over connections to the alleged criminal behaviour. On Friday, Italian police also seized the assets of another gaming outlet – Betuniq – in Lecce after they had seized €2 billion worth of mafia assets.

The Malta Gaming Authority said it had carried out all due diligence checks on the companies involved, but did not explain how they had slipped through the net.

While saying that the allegations have not yet been proven, the authority underlined that a rigorous system of checks and balances was in place.

Industry insiders said the people involved have been known to the authorities for a long time.

“The Maltese authorities are trying to catch up with what the Italian police are revealing from an investigation that has been going on for many years. It’s not the end of the story in terms of the involvement of Malta-based companies,” the industry expert told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Mario Gennaro, the alleged mastermind behind the mafia scheme to use gaming companies for money laundering, had been monitored by the Italian police for a number of years, which is why he ended up in Malta, sources said.

He set up the holding company Uniq Group in December 2010, according to Malta Financial Services Authority records. At the time, Mr Gennaro could not even open a bank account, the source explained, so he would pay everything in cash, a move which drew attention.

Yet, the authorities handed Mr Gennaro a second gaming licence two years later. The Italian police identified companies Uniq Group, Uniq Shopping, Tebaral Holding, Tebaral Trading, Betsolution4U and Fast Run Limited as part of the network linked to the organised crime syndicate. Fast Run was established only last January.

The investigations also led to the arrest of six Italians – five men and a woman – who last Wednesday agreed to be extradited to Italy. More people in Malta are expected to be questioned.

Franco Roberti, the Anti-Mafia District Attorney from Calabria, said the operation was linked directly to the Tegano clan of the organised crime group ‘Ndrangheta, which controls much of Europe’s cocaine trade.

Mr Gennaro’s organisation focused on money laundering, illegal gambling and tax avoidance. They allegedly used companies and offshore servers to avoid the Italian tax authorities.

It appears wagers collected by Italian gambling outlets were transferred to bank accounts controlled by the mafia to bookmakers based in Malta. The re-routing of funding allowed the group to evade taxes and launder vast sums of dirty cash. Investigators told the Italian media that in 48 hours a single agency may carry out transactions worth as much as €200,000.

The links to Malta threatens to shed a negative light on the i-gaming sector that accounts for about 12 per cent of the country’s GDP, according to the MGA’s 2014 financial report. The total revenue generated by the MGA last year was €58.4 million. There were 283 gaming licences as at the end of last year – a 21 per cent increase over 2013. Last year, the MGA suspended four licences and imposed 22 administrative fines on remote gaming companies. On Friday, another licence awarded to Alibaba Casino Limited was suspended.

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