The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced that Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited has been issued a £322,000 penalty package due to money laundering failures.
Following an investigation by the UKGC, Petfre – trading under Betfred – was found to have not carried out adequate source of funds checks on a customer who deposited £210,000.
The punter in question, who lost £140,000, has in fact been using stolen money across a 12-day period in November 2017.
Information passed to the UKGC revealed this customer had in fact been convicted of a £2million fraud, spending the stolen money through “several gambling operators” – including Petfre.
The findings read: “A customer being able to deposit and lose such significant amounts in such a short period of time clearly indicated failings in the effectiveness of Petfre’s anti-money laundering policies and procedures.”
As part of the settlement, Petfre will return £140,000 to the identified victim along with a £182,000 payment in lieu of a financial penalty.
UKGC said the financial penalty will be spent “accelerating delivery of the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.”
