Moscow police close third casino linked to Georgian mafia
Russia’s Interior Ministry has closed the Golden Palace Weekend Casino because of suspected links to the Georgian Mafia. It is the third casino in the city, allegedly owned by the Georgian crime bosses, to be shut down this month by the ministry’s Economic Security Department, for violations of the country’s tax code.
The formal reason for closing “Golden Palace” down is numerous violations. For instance, the department of economic safety of MIA reports the owners has no registration certificates of gambling tables and slot-machines. Some other documents were lacking too. Police also paid attention to the fact that the casino had no license for cooking, and that the staff had no health certificates.
Officers of the criminal investigation department started the checkup of the casino in the middle of the night on Thursday. Alexander Vorobyov, the head of the press service of DES MIA, said, ‘The everyday turnover in the casino was not less than one million dollars. Most of this sum was appropriated by criminal groups.’ Although DES officers do not conceal outcomes of their checkups, it can be suggested that has not been the last checkup.
The ministry’s move has heightened already tense relations between the two countries. Russia recently shut down transport and mail links with Georgia and several senior Russian politicians have called for economic sanctions against the country.
Politicians in Moscow have hinted that Russia may suspend banking operations and money transfers between the two countries as a way of stopping illegal capital flows.