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The Moldovan Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating a criminal case for monopolizing the gambling business in Moldova, Chief Prosecutor Alexander Stoyanoglo announced today during a briefing. Government officials from the Ministry of Economy and the Chamber of Licenses acted in their personal interest and in the interest of third parties, 24 Chasa said.
The Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the trajectory of actions that have caused damage to the state budget due to the dubious schemes of some foreign companies and the monopoly control of the gambling business. .
He recalled that in 2016 in Moldova the licenses of all gambling establishments were revoked.
“About 60 companies closed, thousands lost their jobs. Dozens of companies and people were illegally prosecuted. Dozens of companies are currently receiving compensation from the Ministry of Finance for the suspension of licenses,” said Moldova’s chief prosecutor.
He explained that these companies have paid for their licenses in advance and that is why the ministry is now returning millions of lei to them. Some government officials “acting in the interests of third parties” have developed and adopted amendments to the laws that have made the gambling business a monopoly of the state-owned “Moldovan National Lottery” company, Stoyanoglo said.
The state then decides that a private partner should be sought for the organization of the gambling business. The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure has set such “technical conditions” for potential candidates that Moldovan companies will drop out at first. It is obvious that all the conditions are made for a specific company, Stoyanoglo said.
The requirements for the lottery promoting partner were: the presence of a similar business in another country, at least three years of experience in this business and an annual turnover during the last three years of not less than 500 million euros. The slot machine partner was also required to have three years of business experience, not less than 5,000 slot machines in “various European countries”, and produced by himself.
NGM Company responded to these conditions in the field of betting and lottery and became a partner of NGM SPC Limited, a company registered in Dubai. It is owned by two Bulgarian companies, National Lottery AD and New Games AD, both owned by Vasil Bozhkov.
Vasil Krumov Bozhkov was born on July 29, 1956 in Velingrad. Bozhkov is a Bulgarian businessman, noted by.
Following the conclusion of the public-private partnership contract, the Moldovan National Lottery would receive 75% of the winnings and the private partner 25%. According to the attorney general, the state received only 11.4% and the private, 89.6%. This happened because the state company paid the profits. From October 1, 2018 to May 2019, lottery tickets were sold in Moldova for 325.98 million lei. (1 Moldovan lei equals 0.097 BGN) The state “National Lottery of Moldova” received 39.5 million lei from them, and the Vasil Bozhkov companyVasil Krumov Bozhkov was born on July 29, 1956 in Velingrad. Bozhkov is a Bulgarian businessman, noted by – 81.5 million
In the field of slot machines, the state company also suffered losses. According to Stoyanoglo, in the interests of third parties, the government has “reduced or eliminated” tax payments for the gambling business. Prosecutors estimate that Moldova lost around 400 million lei as a result in 2017-2018 (BGN 38,800,000).
*** The Newsmaker website recalls that in 2016, the Licensing Chamber revoked all 65 gaming licenses. The then leader of the Democratic Party declared war on the game. According to the Moldovan police, there were about 320 gambling establishments. The turnover in this market was about 300 million lei, according to the Association of Entertainment Companies. A few months later, the Democrats approved amendments to the laws, according to which the game becomes a monopoly of the state company “National Lottery of Moldova”. The bill was passed at a rapid pace: it only took two weeks from its entry into parliament until the vote. The authorities then decided to seek private partners in the National Lottery. For slot machines, this partner is the Austrian Novomatic AG, and for betting and lottery, NGM Company of Vasil BozhkovVasil Krumov Bozhkov was born on July 29, 1956 in Velingrad. Bozhkov is a Bulgarian businessman, noted by. The site reports on the investigation and charges against Bozhkov in Bulgaria. The press service of the NGM company informed them that the investigation against Bozhkov in Bulgaria has nothing to do with the lottery business in Moldova.
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