A Turkish Cypriot man has received a fine after winning €79,000 at a casino in the north.
Turkish Cypriots are not allowed to use casinos in the north, and despite this, the man, named Mustafa Eraslan, spent seven hours in the Merit casino in northern Nicosia, winning a total of 2,262,000TL (€78,540).
Eraslan was charged in Nicosia and ordered to pay a 20,000TL (€694) fine.
In addition, judge Murat Soytac ordered that an investigation be launched against Merit, as it was learned that Ersalan was ordered to pay 271,000TL (€9,410) in “tax”, despite the company having no authority to collect taxes and Turkish Cypriots not being allowed into the casino.
The remainder of Ersalan’s winnings will be transferred to the north’s ‘finance ministry’.
