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More than 20 people have been charged after it was discovered that a network of organizations obtained NZD 3.2 million ($1.9 million) in fraudulent gambling grant funds.
The network included six charities and incorporated societies, which were found to have fraudulently obtained $3.2 million in gambling grant funds. 23 people were charged in the Auckland District Court on Thursday (February 12), with more than 500 charges brought against them in total under the Crimes Act, including several alleged counts related to money laundering, receiving, and using forged documents.
It was described as the “biggest prosecution” in the region by Department of Internal Affairs director of gambling Vicki Scott, which followed an extensive investigation. Under the Gambling Act, gambling machine operators are required to give a minimum of 40% of their profits back to the community through grants to community groups and charities.
However, these groups get the grants for the salaries of the employees who do not.
“Taken its name from the Latin term meaning ‘tracing’, ‘Operation Indago’, investigated a network of six charities and incorporated societies used to obtain $3.2 million in gambling funding for personal gain. This is a large and complex investigation,” said Scott in a press release.
Gambling grant funds are used to launder money through gaming venues
Some of the accused are also said to be running gambling houses using it poker machineslaundering grant funds through the venue’s bank accounts to pay gambling machine profits back to the operators in what Scott described as a “despicable abuse of the gambling system”.
“We will continue to respond strongly to any attempt to undermine important measures to ensure that gambling revenue goes back into the community, not into the back pockets of individuals,” Scott said.
All of the defendants’ identities have been withheld until their next court date on April 9. In Auckland, money laundering and related offenses carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, while using a forged document carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Similar schemes are happening in other places around the world, including the US and the UK.
Featured image: Unsplash
The post 23 charged after charity network allegedly embezzled $3.2 million in gambling grants first appeared in ReadWrite.
