MGA Trying to Salvage Reputation After Arrest

Malta's gaming regulator the Malta Gaming Authority is working to distance itself from its former compliance officer who was arrested last week for tax evasion and is currently being investigated for leaking confidential information from the group.

Former MGA employer Iosif Galea was arrested last week while on holiday in Italy with Malta's former PM Joseph Muscat. Galea has been wanted by Germany for a year for tax evasion was picked up on a European Arrest Warrant.

Galea was in charge of licensing and conducted investigations on operators and gaming systems for companies sanctioned by the MGA. His arrest has caused an uproar among Maltese lawmakers, with MP Joe Giglio stating: "I cannot understand how we did not know about the European Arrest Warrant. This basically means that the Home Affairs Minister and the Police Commissioner have failed because a request for assistance by another country to fight criminality was ignored.

"This is a threat to our country because it means that if there are other people around the world who have arrest warrants issued against them, the airport, our ports… have no idea these exist.

"Because if nobody knew about the Galea warrant, what guarantee do we have that this is not the case with others?"

The MGA has been working to distance itself from Galea, noting that he hasn't been associated with the regulator in nearly a decade, with his tenure taking place between 2007 and 2013. Unfortunately for the MGA, the news comes as its former Chief Technology Officer Jason Farrugia has been charged with money laundering, fraud, and bribery, meaning that the bad press keeps on coming.

Casino Listings News is following this story closely and will update readers as the cases proceed.