Saxony-Anhalt fires lottery directors

The German state has discharged the lottery’s managing directors as it investigates possible misconduct.

Germany.- The Ministry of Finance in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt has dismissed the managing directors of Lotto-Toto Sachsen-Anhalt as it proceeds with an investigation into possible misconduct at the state-owned lottery.

Maren Sieb and Ralf von Eine were suspended from the lottery in July after a number of allegations and have now been dismissed following a meeting of the lottery’s supervisory board.

Saxony-Anhalt is the state that is due to host Germany’s new regulatory authority which will oversee the country’s new gambling legislation, including the launch of its licensed online gaming market from July 2021.

Ministry of Finance official Marko Ehlebe is now in interim control of the lottery while the investigation proceeds. 

The probe was launched after far-right opposition party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) made a number of allegations against the lottery, including claims that it misused funds and gave preferential treatment to managers’ relatives in recruitment. 

It also emerged that senior staff failed to inform the lottery’s supervisory board of unusually high staking at a lottery retailer in the town of Zerbst.

The lottery denied the claims and said AfD was putting its funding for good causes at risk but the state parliament decided to launch an investigation, hiring KPMG to audit the lottery’s processes. 

The investigation is expected to finish in November.