The Kingdom of the Netherlands has a reputation to uphold when it comes to facilitating opportunities to keep money and business activities out of the world's view. This has been successfully achieved for years through a unique phenomenon: the offshore online gambling industry in Curaçao.
In Curaçao, a handful of companies sell international gambling licenses to mailbox firms represented by Curaçao trust offices. There is a complete absence of any form of state supervision.
Behind these mailbox firms, various entities are hidden. From well-known criminals to huge gambling conglomerates whose brand names adorn the websites of renowned football clubs. We recently came across an example from the latter category at Follow the Money, when it was revealed that the Curaçao-based mailbox firms of the originally Russian gambling giant 1xBet were placed on Ukraine's sanctions list.
1xBet is highly opaque – even its ownership is shady – and is known for its difficult relationship with regulations. This prompted Remy Koens, Henk Willem Smits, and myself to take a closer look at this colossus.
Remy followed the data trails of 1xBet for some time. He mapped out hundreds of websites that initially seemed unrelated to the company but were indeed linked to the gambling empire. These gambling sites operate in countries where they are most likely illegal. Meanwhile, billions of euros in cryptocurrency are being transferred back and forth in 1xBet's Bitcoin wallets. The origin and destination? They are unclear. Additionally, we traced a paper trail of companies and bank accounts that ended in Cyprus, where the presumed "organizers" of 1xBet reside.
In stories like these, one thing is always certain: someone pays the price, and it's not the polluter.
The Dutch government doesn't say much about it publicly, but a Freedom of Information request reveals that alarm has been raised within The Hague ministries for years, up to the highest levels, regarding the situation in Curaçao:
"The good name of the Kingdom (and the Netherlands) is being dragged through the mud."
"The money laundering risks are enormous."
"The online gambling sector is one of the biggest criminogenic and undermining factors on the island."
Furthermore, a significant number of European countries and the United States seem to have major issues with the massive and illegal gambling offerings from Curaçao.
However, despite all these years, no action has been taken, and the practices continue unabated.
Two days ago, Sebastiaan Brommersma and I at Follow the Money published a story about the fraud profiling system SyRI. It delved into the extent to which the government intervenes to prevent people on benefits or allowances from tampering. Contrasted with the impunity in Curaçao, where anonymous gambling bosses freely rake in billions through illegal practices, that, in my opinion, is the discrepancy of the week.
David Davidson - Journalist at Follow The Money
