UK’s Crown Prosecution Service acts over criminal allegations related to Turkish gambling operations.
Former Entain chair and CFO among those being prosecuted.
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Charged
List of offenses: The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service has charged former Entain CEO Kenny Alexander and 10 others with offenses relating to bribery, conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent trading, cheating the public revenue, evasion of income tax, acting as a director of a company when undischarged bankrupt and perverting the course of justice.
Among the others that have been charged are former Entain chair Lee Feldman, former CFO at Entain’s predecessor GVC Richard Cooper and former Entain head of legal and compliance Robert Hoskin.
Hannah von Dadelszen, chief Crown prosecutor for the CPS, said the offenses relate to the provision of gambling services in Turkey between 2011 and 2018.
“Our prosecutors have worked closely with officers of HM Revenue & Customs who have carried out the investigation,” von Dadelszen added.
Complex matter: Richard Las, director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: “This has been a complex and international investigation.”
“These are serious charges that relate to conspiracy to defraud, bribery, cheating the public revenue, evasion of income tax and perverting the course of justice among others,” he added.
Entain issued a press release pointing out that it has not been charged and that none of the individuals are currently employed by the company.
The company noted it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the CPS in December 2023.
Back to the DPA: In the summary of the DPA, presiding judge Dame Victoria Sharp said Entain was guilty of breaching section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010. Specifically, the judgment went on to say the “alleged bribery offenses occurred primarily in Turkey.”
“During the indictment period, Turkey was a jurisdiction in which gambling was non-legal,” it continued.
“The phrase ‘non-legal’ in this context refers to services that were considered illegal by the Turkish authorities, or designated as illegal by Turkish domestic legislation, but which would not be illegal if offered in England and Wales where the provision of facilities for gambling (i.e. gaming, betting and/or lotteries) is legal if appropriately licensed and complies with the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005 (the 2005 Act).”
Wholesale change: The judgment made a distinction between the current Entain and the old GVC. “There has been a wholesale change of senior management and approach and an acknowledgment by Entain that it was necessary to overhaul its culture and practices,” it said.
The names of the 11: The eleven charged are:
Kenneth Alexander, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
Richard Cooper, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
Robert Dowling, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
Lee Feldman, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
James Humberstone, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
Alexander MacAngus, charged with conspiracy to defraud.
Scott Masterton, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe, fraudulent trading, cheating the public revenue and acting as a director of a company when undischarged bankrupt.
Caroline Roe, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
Raymond Smart, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
Richard Raubitschek-Smith, charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe.
Robert Hoskin, charged with perverting the course of justice in February 2024.
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