Nine house searches took place last week around game group Novomatic. The Public Prosecution Service for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) has confirmed that nine house searches or inspections have been carried out at (former) employees of the gambling group in the past week. Mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices were allegedly seized.
As “Der Standard” reported in its Friday edition, it is about the suspicion of tax evasion that arose in 2020. Accordingly, Novomatic founder Johann Graf allegedly made generous cash donations to Novomatic employees and supervisory directors or their relatives. According to this, former CEO Harald Neumann received a million euros each in 2018 and 2019. However, the presumption of innocence applies to all suspects.
Originally, in the summer of 2020, the WKStA started investigating 20 suspects – including a company. The conjecture: the gifts are hidden payments from the employee relationship. For this, wage or income tax would have to be paid. However, the procedure was already stopped last year.
Donations must be made after tax
Johann Graf has always denied the allegations. The donations were made for “purely private reasons” and reported to the finance department. A report from tax consultancy KPMG also states that these are real gifts. It is also stated that the profit distributions of the Novomatic Group have already been taxed. In the years 2009 to 2020, these distributions before capital gains tax would have totaled EUR 271 million. After taxes, Graf gave away about two-thirds – about 130 million euros. However, the WKStA only set 30 million euros.
However, there would also be further investigations against Graf and Novomatic. This is about the allegation of post-corruption at Casinos Austria. This allegation is also denied by the accused.
Novomatic on track for expansion
The gaming group, on the other hand, is still expanding: the digital subsidiary Greentube expects strong growth this year, reports the Kurier. The group with 14 production sites cannot keep up with the supply of machines and electronic equipment for casinos. In the US, the online market is opening up more and more. Novomatic is already certified in several states there and supplies major casino groups. But there are also signs of liberalization of the gambling market in Canada and Latin America.
In Europe, Novomatic relies mainly on Great Britain. Novomatic has been represented there since 2000, employs 3000 people and is the market leader in the field of casino equipment, reports the ‘Kurier’.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
