Park Lane Casino Stops Operators After UKGC Revokes Its License

Park Lane Casino has had its operating license revoked by the UK gambling regulator due to the manner in which the brand’s new owners funded the deal.

The announcement was made by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) earlier this week and put Park Lane Casino, an elite members-only establishment owned by Silverbond Enterprises Ltd out of business for the time being.

The announcement comes after the decision to shut down the casino was made on October 21 after a hearing that was called by the commission’s Regulatory Panel. Silverbond has until November 18 to file an appeal; otherwise, the revocation will, by law, come into effect officially. The Park Lane Casino website currently displays a banner indicating that it has been temporarily closed. The casino operates inside the popular Hilton Hotel in Mayfair.

Park Lane Club London

History Of Violations 

According to UKGC, Silverbond facilitated its takeover of Park Lane Casino using funds whose source the commission found to be suspect. Most of the information provided on the legal documents were also not in line with the rules.

Helen Venn, the Executive Director of the UKGC said that it was up to commission to ensure that public confidence is not undermined in the casino industry. As a result, the gambling watchdog always required casino operators to provide them with full access to all information on concerning partners, individuals and vendors that have a significant stake in their gambling operations.

This is not the first time that Silverbond Enterprises Ltd is having a run-in with the law. In 2018, its license was put on temporary hold after Vasilijis Melniks, the owner and former Latvian minister of finance was being investigated for graft. Eiroholdings Invest, the company that owned Silverbond, was one of the many assets that were taken over by Ukrainian authorities.

In 2016, Silverbond had its license withdrawn after Park Lane Casino was involved in check-cashing services to some of its high-ranking patrons sans adequately looking into their source of funds. In 2017, two executives from Park Lane were forced by UKGC to take part in refresher courses after they neglected their duties in dealing with money laundering. In September 2019, Silverbond was once again caught up in another altercation with authorities that involved social responsibilities issues and the failure to keep anti-money laundering checks in place. The enterprise was also found guilty of not adhering to detailed KYC checks when it came to dealing with its VIP customers. Silverbond was slapped with a fine of £1.8 million fine by the UKGC.