Casino managers taken to court in north Cyprus, told it is illegal for them to make deductions from winnings in the name of taxes

Three managers of the Merit casino in Lefkosia, northern Cyprus were taken to a TRNC court on Wednesday after allegedly deducting “tax” from players’ winnings to the tune of 12 per cent, despite not having the authorisation to collect tax.

The casino manager named only as B.T., who was found to have allowed "TRNC" citizen M.E. to enter the casino, allowed him to play games, enabled him to win 2,266,000 TL, (€79,000) and deducted taxes from the bonus won.

The scheme was revealed on September, 28, when a Turkish Cypriot had received a fine after winning almost at the casino, despite Turkish Cypriots being forbidden from entering casino premises in the north.

It was revealed in court in September that the man had been ordered to pay almost €9,500 in “tax” on his winnings by casino staff, with  the court judge ordering an investigation into the matter.

With that investigation well underway, the casino’s manager, slot manager, and cashier were all arraigned before a judge at the Lefkosia’s district court on Wednesday.

All three are accused of breaking laws pertaining to money laundering, forgery of documents, and fraud.

Police explained in court that the trio had allowed the Turkish Cypriot casino goer to enter the casino and play, before preparing false documents and asking him to pay “tax” on his winnings.

Giving the details of the incident in court, the police stated that the suspects were accused of "acting against the law on the prevention of laundering of proceeds of crime", "preparing false documents and obtaining money by fraud".

All three were released on bail worth 50,000TL and have a guarantor sign a 500,000TL. They are also banned from leaving the TRNC until their trial begins and must present themselves to a police station once a week.