Austria: Mafia Millions Laundered Through Online Betting

Foundation betting company

Organized crime in Austria has also invested in, among other things, real estate and securities as well as foundations and gambling, in particular: online betting offices. According to BKA investigator Andreas Holzer, a betting company forms the basis of the illegal business. Online casinos in Philippines however, do not appear to be affected.

Meanwhile, other possible money bunkers have been targeted, Holzer continues, who also speaks of insurance fraud and blackmail. The problem is that the clans do not cooperate directly, but rather overlap in certain sectors. According to the investigator, they are under “time pressure”.

The money is “dirty,” media reports quote BKA Austria spokesman Vinzenz Kriegs-Au, who has been in office since June. He also explained that several of the suspects arrested in Italy in November previously worked in the betting and gambling sector in Austria.

It is obvious that this is most likely a close-knit criminal network. The case has recently become so explosive that Austria's FPÖ Interior Minister Herbert Kickl also commented, the 50-year-old politician said in full:

“This case shows once again how important cross-border cooperation is in the fight against organized crime.” – Herbert Kickl, Austrian Minister of the Interior

The case of the ex-boxer T.

The Neapolitan ex-boxer T. Hit the headlines as one of the suspects arrested in Italy in mid-November. Overall, the action here extended across Calabria, Catania in Sicily, Bari in Apulia and the capital Rome.

However, T. Lived with his partner I. In Austria for years, ran two successful online betting portals there, and the Italian mafia worked behind the scenes. In Austria T was also with one for a long time - loudly press reports – “large online betting company”. This was also directly in the authorities' crosshairs. Almost ironically, T. Was also working in a senior position for the Federbet organization, which works against criminal infiltration of sports games. Although he is not considered "part of a well-known Italian mafia clan", he is now charged in Italy with "connections to the mafia" - which is considered a (known) serious offense there. As is once again crystal clear in this case, the Italian mafia continues to work with any “friendly” companies in other European countries - especially when it comes to money laundering, as if it were completely normal.

Gambling mafia also in Malta

It has recently become no secret that the gambling mafia also holds the reins in the tax haven of Malta. Although the Maltese gaming regulator Malta Gaming Authority (MAG) is increasing Accusations from European media most recently denied as “reheated stories” in October, the dilemma is hard to ignore.

The allegations are originally based on the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galzia in a car bomb in November 2017. For years, until her tragic death, the reporter researched behind the scenes in the gambling stronghold of Malta - her credo: The mafia rakes in millions every year from the gambling islands, while politicians look the other way. She continued to report on “untruths, corruption, money laundering and tax evasion” and risked her life.

In this sense, the concerns of the European authorities seem justified: recently, according to insiders, European bookmakers that had already been banned received their Maltese license back under bizarre reasons. According to reports from the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), the situation is spreading organized crime via Malta to all of Europe. Further developments on the matter remain to be seen.

Austria: Mafia millions laundered through online betting offices