Italian courts drop Galassia allegations against Malta-based company

An Italian review court has dropped allegations of mafia association against a man, Antonio Ricci, by the Reggio Calabria investigation ‘Operation Galassia’.

Ricci had been arrested in April and released after two months in detention.

Both the court of review and the Court of Cassation said there was not found enough proof of the ties between criminal organisations and Malta-based gaming company, OIA Services, which operates under an Italian license.

The allegations against OIA Services, holder of the brands ‘Betaland’ and ‘Enjoybet’, refer to tax-related matters over a supposed permanent establishment in Italy and illegal gaming offer.

The company was placed under investigation in November 2018 and its websites placed offline in accordance with orders from the Prosecutor’s Office of Reggio Calabria. However, after three weeks the Maltese enterprise was allowed to restart both its digital and retail betting network by the same prosecutor’s office.

The company said in a statement that it has been operating since then in full compliance with the provisions of the Italian regulated market with no further restriction from the Magistrates.

“In the last years Malta has been repeatedly under scrutiny over allegations of being a suitable venue for illegal activities and money laundering ventures. Once again, the Courts seem to reject these arguments: so many entrepreneurs in Malta do their best effort to create innovation and legal business. Malta cannot be depicted within EU as a weak jurisdiction hosting illegal ventures; instead it is a modern, fast-growing state, the fastest in EU, meeting higher compliance standards and, at the same time, providing opportunities for both investors and workers from all over Europe,” the company said.