In June 2022, the trials against some ringleaders of the cybercrime organization of Uwe Lenhoff, who died in prison, will start in Germany. The “old” B90 Holdings plc, which operated as Veltyco Group PLC at the time, was founded by Lenhoff and played an essential role in his scams. Since Lenhoff’s death in July 2020, some things have changed at B90 Holdings, while others have remained the same. CFO Marcel Noordeloos is still in place, and the Lenhoff partner Dirk-Jan Bakker is still one of the principal shareholders. In April 2021, Ronny Breivik was appointed as CEO; he is also one of the largest economic owners.
Key data
Trading names | Bet90 Bet90 Holdings Bet90 Ventures Spinbookie |
Domains | www.bet90.com www.spinbookie.com www.b90holdings.com |
Legal entities | Bet90 Holdings plc, Isle of Man Bet 90 Sports Limited (old), Malta Spintastic NV (new), Curacao Entercreation Ltd, Malta |
Related individuals | Uwe Lenhoff (deceased founder) Ronny Breivik Karim Peer Marcel Noordeloos Dirk-Jan Bakker Paul Westerterp |
Regulators | FCA for Bet90 Holdings plc MGA for Entercreation Ltd MGA for B90 Sports Ltd Curacao eGaming (CEG) for Spintastic NV |
Ronny Breivik takes over
Norwegian gambling veteran Ronny Ingvar Breivik has been appointed CEO of B90 Ventures Ltd, the operating subsidiary of the listed holding company. Breivik is also one of the shareholders of Entercreation Ltd in Malta, according to Offshore Leaks. From the latter, B90 Holdings acquired online gaming and sports betting venture Spinbookie at the end of 2021. The release did not mention that this was a transaction between related companies.
Until recently, Malta-based MGA-regulated Bet 90 Sports Limited was the operator of online sports betting and casino provider Bet90 (ww.bet90.com). Since the acquisition of Spinbookie, both are operated by Spintastic NV with a license in Curacao.
Over the last 18 months, a structural shift in the shareholder structure has apparently taken place due to the acquisitions of various businesses such as Spinbookie or Oddsen in the environment of CEO Ronny Breivik and the issue of shares to affiliate partners. In addition, there were also several capital increases or convertible loans to which new shareholders also subscribed. In addition, stock options were granted. The number of shares issued massively increased to almost 240 million.
As of December 31, 2021, Dutch investor Paul Westerterp, Performance Media, and Dutch real estate investor Dirk-Jan Bakker (via Vancom Ltd and Diman BV) were the largest shareholders. If the shares of Entercreation, Performance Media, and Ronny Breivik are counted as one block, that is the largest shareholder and controls more than 16% of the company.
Entercreation will receive another 3.6% if the agreed targets are met, bringing the block to just under 20%.
It also seems that the family of deceased founder Uwe Lenhoff is still holding more than 11%, according to the latest transaction report. However, their holding is not included in the company’s latest official shareholder list on its website.
Despite the acquisitions and the new management, the B90 Holdings share has lost around 50% over the last 12 months.
Non-disclosed Lenhoff legacy
Legacy issues may also come up in the trials against the charged Veltyco Scheme perpetrators. For example, what happened to the B90 Holdings subsidiary Velmont MNE, which was founded by Marcel Noordelos in 2017? What will happen to MGA-regulated Bet 90 Sports Limited, acquired by Lenhoff partner Betim Tasholli, the main suspect in the Trials (report here).
A lot of money from Lenhoff’s scams has been transferred to the then Veltyco Group PLC. This company also did marketing for these scams and is thus also responsible for the acquisition of the victims of Option888, Xtrader, or LottoPalace. Are the victims not entitled to compensation from B90 Holdings and its managers?
These and other questions will hopefully be answered in the course of the German trials. The spotlight on B90 Holdings is on again!