Gambling911.com broke the news Thursday complete with copies of the criminal complaint against the trio of former Bodog employees. (Link to the Charges)
The filed complaint surrounds an illicit transaction back in April 13, 2012 where Gustafsson requested and Quiambao and de Guzman signed for an unauthorised wire transaction of $160,338 to be sent to a Filipino businessman for legal services that according to the report were never contracted for or approved by the corporate board of directors.
The charges against Gustafsson alleges that he was using corporate funds to pay for personal liabilities in a grave abuse of confidence.
Considering Robert Gustafsson wasn’t released by the company for another 12 months and based on the evidence being compiled by the forensic accounting team, this will only be the first of several charges filed against the group.
On the length of prison time the group is looking at, the GIA source said, “This gang is looking at hundreds of years in jail once all the charges are levied. This particular Theft charge was based on a transaction from Bodog Asia, but it’s important to realize that there are a number of other victims and some are non-gaming companies.”
Hundreds of years seem like hyperbole but according to the Philippines Revised Penal Code, if convicted, the gang faces a maximum of 20 years plus an addition year for each 10,000 pesos over the 22,000-peso threshold.
Using the current exchange rate, if convicted Gustafsson, Quiambao and de Guzman could face a maximum of 640 years in a Filipino prison. Although it’s doubtful they would serve the full term.