Rolex Watches and Luxury Cars: Illegal Lottery Uncovered in Vienna-Floridsdorf

Black market sales of 600,000 to 800,000 euros were proven. The twelve suspects face heavy fines and immigration consequences, as they were illegally residing in Austria, the Federal Ministry of Finance announced in a press release on Friday.

The suspects are said to have lured participants with high-value prizes and sold thousands of tickets, mainly via Facebook. Hundreds of people across Europe participated and paid up to 100 euros for a ticket, said a spokesperson for State Secretary Barbara Eibinger-Miedl (ÖVP) to the APA. They transferred the money to the 30-year-old main suspect or purchased the tickets directly at the Vienna headquarters, which was located in an inconspicuous residential building in the 21st district, it was reported. The Vienna State Criminal Police Office and later the Financial Police (Office for Fraud Prevention) launched investigations, and on March 26, a raid was conducted together with WEGA, the readiness unit, and the police command.

Illegal Lottery in Vienna-Floridsdorf: Dog Sniffs Out Hidden Rolex Watches

During the raid, the suspects voluntarily handed over only one Rolex watch, but customs service dog Ike was able to sniff out two more hidden watches in a laundry cabinet. Since meticulously kept records of the participants' deposits were found in the lottery headquarters, black market sales in the range of 600,000 to 800,000 euros could be proven. The watches were taken into custody by the Special Responsibilities Office of the Austrian Tax Office as security for the unpaid gambling tax. The lottery operators now face financial penalty proceedings under the Gambling Act, but they also face immigration consequences, as the suspects from Serbia were illegally residing in Austria. The participants can take civil action against the organizer.

"Thanks to the excellent cooperation of our investigative authorities, we were able to put an end to this fraudulent system. This investigative success once again shows how unscrupulously illegal gambling networks operate and divert large sums from the state," Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (SPÖ) and Eibinger-Miedl were quoted in the press release.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.