Dutch gaming lawyer arrested in Sheriff Gaming case
Dutch authorities continue fraud investigation into Sheriff parent company Bubble Group
A Dutch gaming lawyer working on behalf of the troubled Sheriff Gaming has been arrested in relation to allegations of fraud, forgery and money laundering brought against Sheriff’s parent company Bubble Group.
The 49-year-old, named as Annette M. in the Dutch press, was taken into custody last week and is accused of aiding and abetting criminal activity relating to fraudulent online casino sites.
The news follows months of speculation relating to Bubble Group and its CEO Stijn Flapper who was accused of money laundering and questioned by police in November last year.
According to reports, Dutch police claimed Flapper was laundering money by operating rigged games on a network of online casino sites that also did not exclude underage players.
Bubble Group was later declared bankrupt when it had its Category 2 Alderney Gambling Control Commission licence revoked. The regulator said it deemed the operator was “no longer fit and proper to hold such a certificate”.
Former Bubble Group staff attempted to restart the firm last month under the name Blue Gem Gaming, however the company’s assets were quickly seized by the receiver handling Sheriff Gaming’s bankruptcy case, claiming them to legally belong to the defunct company.
The content has since been removed from online casinos hosting it and Blue Gem’s website has disappeared.
Sheriff Gaming has denied any accusations of wrongdoing.