A Lithuania-based businessman faced detention in Vilnius after a court reported that about 27 million euros disappeared from a casino not owned by him. The information comes from the Vilnius City District Court, as cited by TASS.
According to court disclosures, the entrepreneur Sarunas Stepukonis, who is suspected of embezzling roughly 27 million euros, was detained for two weeks while investigators proceed with the case. The funds went missing from a casino operated by BaltCap, a place connected to the business operations in which Stepukonis was involved.
At the time the money vanished, the businessman was abroad, in Ukraine, with the court noting no specific purpose for the trip. He returned to Lithuania late last week and turned himself in to authorities, initiating the formal phase of the inquiry.
In other recent headlines, reports mentioned a football figure associated with Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazilian national team Neymar appearing on broadcasts related to losses in online gambling environments, including a figure around 1 million euros. These stories highlight the broader context of risk and controversy in online betting spaces.
Additionally, another sports figure, a Russian mixed martial artist named Vartan Asatryan, was reported to have lost about 200 thousand dollars at a Sochi casino, underscoring the varying scales of losses in gambling venues across regions.
Earlier, media coverage touched on connections between well-known personalities and gambling narratives, including speculation about familial ties to criminal networks in some reports. These episodes illustrate how high-profile names can surface in discussions about finance, legality, and risk in the betting landscape.
The case in Vilnius raises questions about where accountability lies when large sums are at stake and how responsibility is determined for funds that pass through entertainment or hospitality venues associated with business ventures. Investigations typically focus on tracing ownership, control of accounts, and the authority of corporate entities involved in the gaming industry. (citation: Vilnius City District Court)