ladbrokes-owner-gvc-faces-probe

1 Ladbrokes Owner GVC Faces Probe

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Ladbrokes owner GVC faces probe by UK tax authority

21 July 2020

Ladbrokes owner GVC has said it is "shocked" the UK's tax body is broadening a query into "potential corporate angering" associated with its previous Turkish online gambling system.
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It said HM Revenue & Customs had actually broadened its probe into suppliers GVC used in Turkey to consist of other entities within its group.

GVC sold its Turkish company in December 2017.

The company said it was co-operating with examination.

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GVC were notified of the advancement on Monday, but said it had yet to be notified of which of its subsidiaries were being examined.

It said it was "amazed by the decision to extend the investigation in this way and are disappointed by the lack of clearness supplied by HMRC regarding the scope of its examination".

"HMRC has actually not yet supplied information of the nature of the historic conduct it is examining, with the yohaig code exception of a recommendation to area 7 Bribery Act 2010, nor has it clarified which part of the GVC group is under examination."

Section 7 states that an industrial organisation is guilty of an if an individual related to that business allurements another person to acquire or retain service, or to acquire or retain a benefit in the conduct of service.

GVC's share rate was down 10.6% to 778.2 p on Tuesday following the news.
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The UK Gambling Commission told the BBC that it was "helping" with the investigation.

HMRC decreased to comment.
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In July 2019, GVC was forced to deny reports that it was still taking advantage of its former Turkish subsidiary, worrying that it no longer had ties with business.

"The board re-iterates the fact that subsequent to the disposal of the group's Turkish-facing business, GVC has no activity either directly or indirectly linked to the Turkish market," GVC stated.
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"Furthermore, the board also unconditionally refutes recommendations that the group, or senior management, continue to benefit from any operations servicing the Turkish market."

Liz Coleman, previous HMRC tax inspector and expert of advisory firm Integrated Dispute Resolution, stated the examination could go on for some time.

"HMRC examinations are usually lengthy and considering the size of GVC it could be going on for several years, although if there's a targeted approach it might be shorter," she stated.
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"They need to evaluate all the computer records too, so this could add even more time."
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The HMRC's decision comes just a week after Kenneth Alexander revealed that he was stepping down as GVC's president.
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Mr Alexander took over in 2007 and oversaw the business's acquisitions of rivals Ladbrokes Coral and Bwin.party.

GVC reported a 22% drop in overall net incomes for the second quarter this year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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