Fake casino winnings: Man convicted of money laundering
•
9 Aug 2024 •
Reading time: 3 minutes A man has been convicted of money laundering after claiming to have won a large sum of money at a Barcelona casino. However, the lack of tangible evidence of this winnings was enough to convince the Dutch justice system.
It all started in August 2022, when an individual was stopped by Dutch law enforcement. He was in possession of a sum of cash of more than 10,000 euros, an amount that he was unable to justify convincingly. Initially, he claimed that the money came from his father, but faced with investigators’ doubts, he changed his version of events.
The suspect then claimed that he had won this considerable sum at a Barcelona casino a few months earlier. He claimed to have spent several weeks in the Catalan capital with his partner and to have had an incredible series of gambling winnings. However, he was unable to provide any concrete evidence to support his claims.
Lack of evidence
Investigators attempted to verify the truth of the individual’s statements by contacting the casino in question. Unfortunately, they were unable to obtain the information necessary to confirm or deny his story. The suspect was also unable to produce any receipts, bank statements or any other documents that could corroborate his claims.
The man’s ex-partner was also questioned. Although she confirmed that they had travelled to Barcelona together, she denied having witnessed his alleged winnings at the casino.
Money laundering conviction
Given the lack of tangible evidence, the judges concluded that the suspect’s explanation was implausible and that it was more likely that the money came from illegal activities. They therefore handed down a conviction for money laundering.
It is important to note that the Dutch justice system took into account the fact that the individual had already been convicted in the past for other offences. This circumstance weighed in the balance when determining the sentence.
Limitations of the investigation
For investigators it’s often difficult to find out the source of money when it was paid out by casinos. It is often complex to trace the origin of funds, particularly when transactions are made in cash.
In addition, casinos are required to maintain a certain level of confidentiality regarding information relating to their customers. It can therefore be difficult for the authorities to obtain the evidence necessary to establish a link between sums of money and gambling activities.
Challenges in the fight against money laundering
Money laundering is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Sums of money resulting from criminal activities are often hidden in the legal economy, particularly through casinos and other gaming establishments. This is why casinos have a key role to play in preventing money laundering. They must implement rigorous procedures to verify the identity of their customers and report any suspicious transactions to the authorities. The competent authorities, for their part, must implement effective control mechanisms to detect and sanction these illegal practices. To this end, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU published new, stricter rules in June and made new tools available to online gaming companies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU.