AAMS bosses appeal 7.4m suspected bribery fines
Former head of Italian regulator and current games director fined "accused lodge joint appeal to have case dismissed.
The former head of Italian regulatory body AAMS and the current director of games have been fined a total of 7.4m as part of an ongoing investigation into gaming machine operators’ failure to comply with regulation.
Giorgio Tino, who left his role at the regulator in July 2008, has been fined 4.8m, while director of gaming Antonio Tagliaferri has been hit with a 2.6m penalty. Both men are alleged to have not taken any action against 10 local operators who are said to have failed to ensure their gaming machines were connected to AAMS servers in order for the regulator to calculate the tax each company should pay.
Tino’s wife Anna Maria Barbarito was also named in the case, with prosecutors claiming she accepted gifts from gaming operators which amounted to bribes.
The audit department (Corte dei Conti) of the Italian government has fined 10 operators, including Snai, Lottomatica, Sisal, Cirsa, Codere, Cogetech, G.Matica, Gamenet, B Plus Giocolegale and HBG Gaming, a total of 2.475bn for failing to launch, and then connect their machines, to a monitoring network and declare the taxable amount each firm should pay.
The terms of regulation stipulated that operators would be fined 50 for every hour each machine was not connected to the network, with the Corte dei Conti originally submitting a claim for 90bn from the 10 companies. Their machines are said to have not been connected for three years between 2006 and 2008. The multi-billion euro figure is based on the penalty charge and is designed to reclaim taxes the authority feels it is owed as a result of the alleged failure to connect to the monitoring network.
The amount was significantly reduced to 2.475bn as part of a compromise agreement, but all the parties involved, including the three individuals, have lodged an appeal with the Corte dei Conti, aiming to have the charges dismissed.
B Plus Giocolegale, part of the Atlantis World Group which operates casinos in the Caribbean, has been fined 845m. This is thought to be the largest fine passed down by the Corte dei Conti.
The fines in full:
- Snai: 210m
- Lottomatica: 100m
- Codere: 115m
- Cirsa Italia: 120 million
- Sisal: 245 million
- G.Matica: 150 million
- Hbg: 200 million
- Gamenet: 235 million
- Cogetech: 255 million
- B Plus Giocolegale: 845m
TOTAL: 2.475bn