A 44-year-old man has been sentenced to four years in prison in Malta for embezzlement.
Jonathan James Borg was found guilty of siphoning more than €13,000 meant for iGaming clients of his former employer into his own Revolut account, The Times of Malta reported.
Borg worked for affiliate and marketing firm Raketech between December 2017 and June 2018. He was then retained as a consultant for the company and was responsible for customer reconciliations.
He first appeared in court in 2019 facing a myriad of charges including obtaining money by false pretences, fraudulent gain, unlawful access to a computer and money laundering.
He was also charged with breaching a freezing order imposed on him on 2 March of that year and a set of bail conditions.
The allegations into Borg’s fraudulent activities began in July 2019 after Raketech’s head of accounts discovered payments from Panda Media – originating from gaming operator Videoslots – were missing from the company’s accounts.
An internal investigation found that the payment details had been changed and the money redirected to Borg’s personal accounts with Bank of Valletta and Revolut. The Revolut account was linked to a virtual MasterCard and Visa card, which he used to withdraw the stolen cash on either the same or the following day.
Raketech had already reported Borg in February 2019 and he is facing separate criminal charges for fraud and misappropriation.
He was eventually arrested in August 2019 after he went to sign his bail book in Żebbuġ, Malta.
During the investigation, police found that Borg had deliberately hidden the transactions within the Revolut app. When questioned, he initially claimed he knew about some of the transactions, but he never withdrew the money.
He also failed to report the transactions to the Revolut or the police, which the court interpreted as an attempt to conceal his wrongdoing.
The court held there was enough circumstantial evidence to charge Borg. He was found guilty of obtaining €13,163.27 by false pretences; money laundering; changing the bank details and making unauthorised use of passwords; as well as breaching a freezing order and set of bail conditions.
Borg was jailed for four years and ordered to forfeit a €10,000 deposit and €75,000 personal guarantee to the government.
He was also ordered to repay the €13,163.27 to Videoslots within one year and cover the court fees of approximately €550. If Borg is unable to pay back the money through his assets, he will face an additional fine of the same amount.
The court also banned Borg from accessing public funding, including tender processes, grants and concessions as well as being permanently excluded from practising commercial activities.
