A Spanish police officer has been sentenced for embezzling money to gamble. The man will now serve a five-month suspended prison sentence and a 10-month disqualification period.
The incident happened in 2020 when the man and his team cracked down on an illegal drug operation. At the scene, the officer and his colleagues seized bags of marijuana and almost $10,000 in cash.
Instead of safeguarding the cash found at the scene, the officer decided to appropriate it when his colleagues were not looking. Eight hours later, the man proceeded to treat himself at a local casino with the money he embezzled. To make matters worse, the police officer hit a streak of losses, eventually returning home with none of the cash he had hoped to earn.
The police later asked the man to return the seized items. After he handed only the drugs, his suspicious colleagues reported the incident, leading to an investigation into the matter. In the end, the police officer’s crime came to light.
The man was able to return the money, which, luckily for him, was a major mitigating factor, leading to a much lighter sentence. As a result, he was only handed a suspended sentence. However, the prosecution can still try to appeal the decision.
More Recent Criminal Activities in the Gambling Sector
In other news, Binance Holdings, the world’s largest crypto exchange, admitted to violating anti-money laundering regulations in the United States. The company intentionally focused on profits, neglecting its AML responsibilities. As a result of its guilty plea, Binance will have to pay $4 billion to resolve the investigation.
Changpeng Zhao, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, resigned from his position as a result of the case.
Elsewhere, a fatal shooting occurred at Osage Casino & Hotel in the United States where an alleged car and credit card thief tried to escape from the police. According to reports from local news outlets, the man was fatally shot by a bystander while he was trying to escape with a car and dragging a police officer who had been trying to stop him across the pavement.
The identities of the deceased person and the shooter are yet to be revealed as of the time of this writing.