Former bwin bosses seek to dismiss bribery charges
Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger appeal charges in Austria relating to bwin's application for a Turkish sports betting licence in 2007
Former bwin bosses Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger have said charges of bribery and alleged breach of trust brought against them by an Austrian court are “completely unfounded” and have moved to appeal the accusations.
The charges relate to bwin’s 2007 application for a sports betting licence in Turkey, with the court alleging the Austrian operator effectively paid a ?2.25m bribe to the Turkish government.
But bwin, which later merged with Party Gaming to form bwin.party in March 2011, said it had been the victim of a “highly connected and international criminal network”.
The operator said it appointed Austrian consultancy agency Bachler and Partners to assist with its licence application, who in turn engaged a number of advisors in Turkey.
Bwin claims it paid the advisors ?2.25m in consultancy fees and did in fact receive a Turkish sports betting licence, although it turned out to be fake. A spokesman for bwin.party confirmed that bwin has not operated in Turkey since that time.
The firm filed criminal complaints against Gerda Binder, Friedrich Jarosch, Eric Voerman, and Sheref Hokelekli and the country’s public prosecutor conducted an investigation into the company and its network of advisors.
Criminal proceedings were also initiated in Turkey.
During the course of the investigation in Austria, bwin claims one of the accused claimed the money paid by the operator had not been a consultancy fee, but was to be used to bribe Turkish officials into granting the firm a licence.
His claims, said bwin, had led to the public prosecutor filing charges against Bodner and Teufelberger for alleged attempted bribery – charges the firm said were “more than surprising”.
Bodner and Teufelberger have filed an appeal to the court to dismiss the case, which they said was “without merit”.
“We are aware of the case currently being brought by Austrian authorities against Norbert and Manfred in relation to the application for a Turkish gaming licence in 2007,” the firm said in a statement.
“It is Norbert’s and Manfred’s, as well as the company’s view, that the case is without merit and Norbert and Manfred have therefore filed an appeal to the court to dismiss the case.
“They are fully confident that the Austrian court will uphold this appeal in due course,” the firm added.