Bet 90 Sports Limited d/b/a Bet90 (www.bet90.com) in Malta is regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and was a venture of the Veltyco cybercrime organization of alleged cybercrime mastermind Uwe Lenhoff and his partner Betim Tasholli. While Lenhoff died in pre-trial detention in the summer of 2020, Tasholli is currently being tried in Germany. The former MGA official Iosif Galea used to be the director of Bet90 in Malta. Recently, he has arrested in Italy with an EU arrest warrant. Additionally, he is suspected to be part of an MGA-centered corruption racket.
The German Background
Iosif Galea worked for the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) between 2007 to 2013 as a compliance officer. He then became a so-called compliance consultant, supporting and facilitating the MGA licensing to mostly foreign applications. Moreover, he used to work as a sort of nominee director for his clients and earned a few thousand euros a month per client for his nominee job. One of these jobs was for the Bet 90 Sports Limited of Uwe Lenhoff. As a director, he has been responsible for all legal and tax obligations of the respective companies. German authorities allegedly issued an EU arrest warrant against Iosif Galea for not complying with the local compliance and tax regulations.
In the months before Galea’s arrest in Italy in the German case, the MGA had issued a notice informing Galea that he would be served with a formal warning over his conduct and issued him with a €53,000 fine. The regulator told him that his approval to act as what is known as a key function holder with gaming companies would not be renewed when it expired in September 2022.
More Charges In Malta
The Times of Malta reports that “nearly three dozen applications linked to crime-linked gaming consultant Iosif Galea have been halted by the gaming authority.” The 35 MGA applications were linked to 24 licensees or prospective applicants. The decision was made after news broke that Galea is also wanted by Maltese law enforcement to face charges over his suspected involvement in a racket that saw commercially sensitive information leaked from within the MGA.
Jason Farrugia, formerly the MGA’s chief technology officer, and his wife Christine Farrugia were charged with money laundering and fraud, among other offenses, after he allegedly leaked sensitive client information from the regulator. Allegedly, Farrugia received hefty cash payments from Galea while the alleged leaks occurred.
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