Three men deny €250,000 theft from Eden Leisure casino

Three men have been charged with the theft of some €250,000 from a St Julian’s casino owned by the Eden Leisure Group.

Deliveryman Miroslav Nokolaev Minchev, 36, Dobri Enev, 27, also a deliveryman and  operations manager Viktor Iliev Leondiev, 32, all pleaded not guilty to charges this morning.

The men were charged with defrauding Casino Malta Limited, a subsidiary of the Eden Leisure Group, out of approximately €250,000, as well as theft aggravated by value, person and time.

Minchev alone was also accused of forging a document used for the purposes of the Gaming Act.

The investigation started earlier this year after company officials reported abnormal winnings during Minchev's  - then an employee  of the company - shift and two other individuals who were players, the police said in a statement. 

All three are Bulgarians are resident in Malta. They all pleaded not guilty and requested bail.

Inspector Joseph Xerri told the court that St Julian’s district police found that the theft happened between October 2017 and January this year.

Lawyer Joseph Giglio requested bail for the men, pointing out that they had cooperated with the police investigation and that their travel documents were now in the possession of the police.

The prosecution did not object to bail, telling magistrate Audrey Demicoli that the accused men had been arrested in January and had always obeyed the conditions of their police bail. 

Giglio added that all the accused were currently gainfully employed and had lived in Malta for several years. “The main contestation relates to the issue of the amount being claimed by the Casino,” explained the lawyer. 

The court granted the men bail against a personal guarantee of €8000. The prosecution also requested a freezing order, which the court also upheld.

Lawyers Noel Bianco, Joe Giglio and Roberta Bonello appeared for the accused men. Lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell appeared parte civile for Casino Malta Ltd.