Man at the centre of the massive ‘Ndrangheta crackdown is registered to an address at Pendergardens

Mario Gennaro

Mariolino/Mario Gennaro, an Italian citizen at the centre of the Italian police crackdown on the ‘Ndrangheta’s use of gaming companies to launder money from the cocaine trade and other crime, is registered to an address at Pender Gardens in St Julian’s.

Gennaro is a professional poker player but his Betuniq gaming business, which has been seized by the Italian police (see previous post) is used to launder ‘dirty’ money from crime, the police say, describing him as being close to ‘Ndrangheta crime bosses.

Going on a lead from a big article in the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, this website has looked up Betuniq’s holding company registration details at the Malta Financial Services Authority, as well as Gennaro’s.

The Italian police have been monitoring Gennaro to see whether his frequent trips to Malta are for participation in poker tournaments and have concluded that they are made in connection with money-laundering.

The Betuniq brand is owned by UniQ Ltd, which was registered in Malta on 14 December 2010. Its registered address is 120 The Strand, Gzira.

Its only director is Serena Pavazza, an Italian citizen with an address in Gzira. The company secretary is another Italian citizen, Margherita Giudetta, with an address in St Paul’s Bay.

UniQ Ltd is in turn owned by Start Games Ltd, which was registered four days earlier, on 10th December 2010. Its registered address is Charles Court in Pieta’.

Its shares are held ‘in trust’ (for want of a better explanation) by GVM Holdings Ltd, a fiduciary company of the sort used by most law firms, and its only director is Mario Gennaro, who is also the company’s legal and judicial representative. Gennaro is registered to an apartment in Block 12, Pendergardens in St Julian’s.

The company secretary is an Italian citizen called Valentina Tavilla, with an address in Msida. The Italian police have issued a warrant for her arrest.

Six Italians living in Malta have been arrested under a European Arrest Warrant issued at the request of the Italian police, and were arraigned in the Courts of Justice earlier today. They are to be extradited to Italy.

I have just rung David Gonzi, one of the lawyers in GVM Holdings Ltd, and the former prime minister’s son, to confirm that this is indeed the same Mario Gennaro named in Il Fatto Quotidiano.

He confirmed that it is but said that he is not a client of GVM Holdings Ltd and that GVM Holdings Ltd is not involved in the administration of Start Games Ltd, but just provides fiduciary services. Lawyers who provide fiduciary services to companies and businesses are not participants in the business itself.

Mario Gennaro, he said, is a director of Start Games Ltd without being a shareholder, that it is the shareholder who is a client of GVM Holdings Ltd, but professional secrecy prevents him from disclosing who the shareholder is. “When shares are held by fiduciary companies on behalf of the actual shareholder, the information is not available to the public but it is always available to the authorities, including the regulatory authorities, and to the banks,” he said.

Meanwhile, I have contacted the police to see what level of involvement they have in this matter and whether they are working in conjunction with the Italian police, but was told to send in my questions by email. I said I would send in a link to this blog-post instead.

At 4.15pm I rang the Malta Gaming Authority to ask whether they had been contacted by the Italian police and whether they would be suspending Uniq Ltd’s gaming licence, and asked to speak to somebody in charge of communications, explaining what it was about. After a couple of minutes I was told that “Claudette” has already left for the day and could I ring tomorrow. I asked who Claudette is and what she does, and was told that she is “marketing and PR”.

I explained that this is not about marketing and PR and that this is a serious news matter and what I needed was somebody who could speak on behalf of the Malta Gaming Authority. The receptionist kindly put me on hold while she asked around again, but came back with the answer that I have to speak to Claudette tomorrow. I asked to speak to the CEO and was told that he is not available. I asked whether any other senior person is available and was told that there is nobody in the office. I pointed out that it is 4.20pm and the office closes at 5pm and she hurriedly said that they are “out on meetings”.

Now I’m sitting here thinking what a communications mess that is: a major story blows up all over the Italian media, a Maltese gaming company is seized in an anti-‘Ndrangheta crackdown, and the Malta Gaming Authority isn’t ready with a statement. They’re so perturbed that they’re all at the beach, lunch or the Stable. Maybe I should pop over there right now and ask the Minister for the Economy, who is responsible for the Malta Gaming Authority, whether he even knows what’s going on.