UK tax authorities have expanded their investigation of GVC’s former Turkish subsidiary to include GVC itself.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has widened its ongoing investigation into GVC Holding’s former Turkish online subsidiary, to include an unspecified part of GVC itself, relating to section 7 of the Bribery Act of 2010 and “potential corporate offending.”

The initial investigation began in November 2019, and was understood to be aimed at several former third-party suppliers, specifically relating to the processing of online gambling payments in the Turkish market. At that point no GVC-owned entity was subject to investigation.

Headlong Limited, GVC’s Turkish subsidiary, was sold to Ropso Malta Limited in November 2017 in what was originally agreed as a performance-related earn-out deal worth up to €150m, payable over five years. However, in 2017, shortly before GVC’s acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral, the group decided it was in its best interests to offload Headlong more quickly, and forgo the earn-out.

According to the Financial Times, Rospo Malta Limited was part-owned by Ron Watts, a business associate of GVC CEO Kenny Alexander. 

GVC has said it is “surprised by the decision to extend the investigation and [was] disappointed by the lack of clarity” provided by HMRC, but that it will cooperate fully with the investigation.

AYO.NEWS says:

Just last week GVC’s CEO of thirteen years, Kenny Alexander, rather abruptly left the company, being replaced by COO Shay Segev. The plot thickens…

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