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he UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has filed charges against former GVC Holdings CEO Kenny Alexander as part of a long-running investigation into the company’s historic gambling activities in Turkey. Alexander and ten others now face serious accusations including conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to bribe, covering the period between 2011 and 2018.
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The list of individuals charged stretches across GVC’s old leadership team and associated companies. Former CFO Richard Cooper, ex-director of trading James Humberstone, and Conexus director Robert Dowling are all facing conspiracy charges. Others include Raymond Smart of Inteliqo Limited, Caroline Patricia Roe (who also faces tax evasion charges), and executives tied to payments provider Ilixium, such as co-founder Richard Raubitscheck-Smith.
Robert Hoskin, Entain’s chief governance officer between 2020 and 2023, has separately been charged with perverting the course of justice earlier this year.
HMRC fraud investigation director Richard Las said the case reflects a “complex and international investigation” involving allegations of fraudulent trading, cheating the public revenue, and bribery.
The investigation centers on Headlong Limited, GVC’s former Turkey-facing subsidiary. GVC owned the business between 2011 and 2017 before selling it to Ropso Malta Limited. The deal included a performance-based earn-out worth up to €150 million, raising questions at the time about whether GVC truly severed ties.
By 2020, HMRC had widened its scope to include possible corporate offences. After rebranding to Entain, the company acknowledged potential historical misconduct linked to former suppliers and employees.
In December 2023, Entain received court approval for a £585 million financial penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement. The settlement also included a £20 million charitable donation and £10 million to cover investigation costs.
Just days later, Entain’s then-CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen resigned, though her departure was not directly tied to the penalty.
Entain’s troubles haven’t gone unnoticed. According to recent reports, Entain is the second most fined firm in the U.K., reflecting an ongoing struggle with compliance and regulatory expectations. The fresh CPS charges only add more weight to its history of enforcement issues.