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Gibraltar’s Gambling Commissioner has defended its decision not to launch an investigation into the now-defunct bookmaker Mansion Group.
Andrew Lehmann denied he had a conflict of interest because he was appointed by then-Gaming Minister Albert Isola, who was also a senior partner at the law firm representing Mansion.
Next up Olive Press The sensational accusation was first reported by Karel Manasco (43), the former CEO of one of the Rocks’ biggest bookmakers.
Manasco alleges that between 2011 and 2021, the company defrauded dozens of governments around the world from its headquarters in Gibraltar.
Violations include operating in countries without proper licenses, circumventing regulations and evading taxes.
But perhaps the most shocking allegation is that Mansion executives set up anonymous bookmakers that could not be traced back to the company in order to continue operating in countries where online gambling is illegal.
All allegations were “strongly denied” by Mansion’s legal representatives, Isolas Law Firm.
Olive Press The company disclosed the allegations for the first time during a legal dispute between Mansion and the remnants of Manasco in Gibraltar’s Supreme Court.
This led to Gambling Commissioner Andrew Lyman being questioned for not taking action when the allegations were received in November 2023.
However, in an email to this newspaper, Lehmann insisted that Manasco’s lawyers failed to provide him with the evidence he needed for his investigation.
He added that he suspected they were trying to use him to support their lawsuit because the matter was already before the Gibraltar courts when he received the warning.
He also expressed doubts about his “legal standing” in investigating a company whose license had been revoked.
The Asian company mysteriously shut down all of its online gambling platforms around 2023 and collapsed while Gibraltar sued its former CEO.
Wansheng Group accused Manasco of accepting huge bonuses and using company funds to buy luxury cars and expensive watches.
The company successfully won a global freezing order against him in 2023, but Manasco has strongly denied this.
“The allegations are of a high level but vague and some are inconsistent with known facts,” William Hill’s former head of regulation told us.
“Some of the allegations do not appear to be related to this jurisdiction (Gibraltar) and some of the allegations occurred before my appointment as Gambling Commissioner in 2018.”
He also rejected suspicions that Mansion Group was disbanding to “avoid any investigation”.
He added: “It is my understanding that the decision to close Gibraltar House was made for commercial reasons.
“This is an orderly dissolution of the company, and I as a regulator have received the signal in advance.”
He also noted that he was involved in an investigation that led to Mansion being fined £850,000 in 2020 for “anti-money laundering failures”.
“I acknowledge the allegations in the media that there was a conflict of interest between the former minister and Isolas Law Firm.
“What I can say is that the former minister never sought to influence the outcome of the money laundering investigation,” he continued.
The news comes as the Gibraltar government puts the final touches on the new Gambling Bill, which is expected to be introduced to Parliament in the autumn.
Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry Nigel Feetham told the annual KPMG Gibraltar eSummit that they were currently listening to “industry feedback”.
But he warned: “One threat to Gibraltar’s reputation is marketing and other similar activity linking Gibraltar to online gambling elsewhere over which our regulator has no control.”
Gambling Commissioner Andrew Lyman asked Olive Press to publish his email in full:
Dear Mr. Finch
First, the fact is that I was not sent the summary charges until November 23, by which time Mansion had already ceased trading and the matter between Mansion and Manasco was already before the court. I understand that the freezing order was issued on February 23, and by the time I received the charges, the case had already been heard on the merits.
The allegations are high-profile, ambiguous, and in some cases inconsistent with known facts. I asked Manasco’s attorneys for more details, but none were forthcoming. Some of the allegations appear to be unrelated to this jurisdiction, and some occurred before my appointment as Gaming Commissioner in 2018. One inconsistency is that the allegations were filed against entities of which Mr. Manasco was a controller or key executive.
The allegations were made in a case that is about to go to trial and in the absence of detailed charges, it was argued that it would be up to the court to decide how much weight to give to the allegations if they were detailed in court.
While employed at Mansion, Mr. Manasco never brought any allegations against his employer to my attention.
before me Under investigation The anti-money laundering lapses at the mansion date back to at least 2020, when Mr Manasco was chief executive, and resulted in an £850,000 regulatory settlement
After Mansion ceased trading it retained its licence for a few weeks so that I could ensure that clients were treated fairly, that their deposits could be withdrawn, and that they could exit the market in an orderly manner (which was the case).
I understand that the decision to close Mansion Gibraltar was made for commercial reasons and not to allow Mansion to “avoid any investigation”. As stated previously, this was an orderly closure of the company and I, as the Regulator, was notified in advance.
I acknowledge that the media allegations of a conflict of interest in the self-evidently transparent links between the former Minister and Isolas Law Firm. What I can say is that the former Minister never sought to control or influence the conduct and outcome of the anti-money laundering investigation into Mansion and I have never considered and therefore requested further details of the high-level allegations made to me in November 2023. No details have been provided since then.
As far as I know, the former Minister was a person of high integrity; he dealt appropriately with any potential conflicts of interest and never attempted to exert any degree of undue influence on me as the Gambling Commissioner; nor did I feel any official pressure on this issue.
Indeed, I realize that these high-level and somewhat historic allegations are being made in a civil case and that there may be attempts to pressure me to open an investigation to give greater weight to those allegations, which may or may not be raised in court. I also believe that it is right for the court to hear any detailed allegations that are supported by the evidence and to give them the weight that the court sees fit.
Now that Mansion has revoked its license, I do not believe that I have any standing as Gaming Commissioner to investigate the past conduct of a licensee. That being said, I am sure the court will decide what weight to give to any allegations made by Mr. Manasco during the civil case.
I very much look forward to reading the Court’s decision on this matter and, where appropriate, drawing lessons from it.
I ask that you print out all my responses (in proper context) and refrain from selective use of quotations.
greeting
Andrew
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