The Malta Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit has recently imposed a fine of €233,156 on Tumas Gaming Limited, a land-based casino in Malta. This penalty is due to the regulatory breaches committed by the company.
The MFIA Unit conducted an investigation into the activities of Tumas Group [Gaming] and found that it had violated several financial regulations. This includes money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit activities. The fine is intended to punish the company for its corrupt practices and to deter similar offenses in the future.
Research by OffshoreAlert in the Malta Business Registry showed that Tumas Gaming Limited was incorporated in Malta on March 24th, 1998, its directors are Emmanuel Fenech, Raymond Fenech, and Ray Sladden, all of Malta, its former directors include Yorgen Fenech, who resigned effective November 12th, 2019, and its shareholders are Tumas Group Company Limited and Tumas Group Management Company Limited, both of Malta. Tumas Group Company Limited’s directors are Emmanuel Fenech, Franco Fenech, and Raymond Fenech and its shareholders are Yorgen Fenech, TGI Limited, of Malta; Anna Fenech, Carmen Fenech, Franco Fenech, Josephine Fenech, Moira Fenech, Patricia Fenech, and Raymond Fenech, and Tumas Group Management Company Limited’s directors are Emmanuel Fenech and Raymond Fenech and its shareholders are Spinola Investments Ltd. and Tumas Group Company Limited, both of Malta.
The fine was issued after the FIAU identified 8 breaches of the regulation, falling broadly within three main categories: risk assessments, due diligence and record keeping.
The FIAU found that the company’s risk assessments did not look into the sources of funds of its gamblers, giving little to no consideration to the possibility that these may be suspect. It also found that in a high proportion of cases, players were allowed to gamble despite incomplete identification and verification.
A “systematic deficiency” was also found in relation to all the profiles of politically-exposed persons reviewed, with the company failing to demonstrate that senior management approval was sought or obtained.
In one case highlighted by the FIAU, a player surpassed the €2,000 threshold requiring a risk assessment in 2009, and in data collected in 2019, he declared that he was the director of a “customer services” business earning up to €40,000 a year. But the same player had deposited €972,622 at the cash desk and dropped €824,111 on live games between 2008 and 2020, far above his declared income. But the company failed to verify the source of funds.