The former CEO of British betting company, Ladbrokes’ parent, Entain, appeared in a London court with other senior directors on Monday charged with bribery and fraud connected to gambling in Turkey.

Kenny Alexander, chief executive of the company formerly called GVC until his departure in 2020, is charged with conspiracy to bribe and conspiracy to defraud between 2011 and 2018.

Mr Alexander (56) led the company from 2007 and turned it from an upstart gambling firm into a FTSE 100 business, orchestrating the £4 billion acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral announced in 2017. GVC’s former non-executive chairman Lee Feldman (57) and ex-CFO Richard Cooper (64) are also charged with conspiracy to bribe and conspiracy to defraud.

The conspiracy to defraud charge alleges Mr Alexander, Mr Feldman, Mr Cooper and others conspired to defraud financial institutions or those performing financial monitoring or compliance functions by concealing the source of money made from gambling in Turkey.

None of the defendants was asked to enter a plea to any of the charges and were granted bail until their next court appearance at Southwark Crown Court on November 3rd.

A lawyer for Mr Alexander was not immediately available for comment, but he previously told the Financial Times that the case would be “vigorously defended”.

Entain said in a statement when the charges were announced in August that neither Entain nor any current employees had been charged. - Revenue