Rade Kotur

Rade Kotur is 55 years old and Swedish newspaper call him The Gambling King. He is in custody in Sweden and has a trial for allegedly instigating murder and attempted murder. He faces also new tax crime charges.

According to these latest charges, the suspect's gambling business had a turnover of at least 463 million kronor ($74 million) between January 1st 2005 and November 13th 2007. Kotur is being charged with grievous tax crimes and false accounting in an alleged attempt to shield from Sweden’s tax authorities hundreds of millions of kronor generated from his gaming operations.

He is already on trial for his suspected involvement in the killing of Ratko Djokić. Ratko, known as The Godfather, operated a rival gambling operation at the time. Nenad Mišović gave interview where he speaks against Kotur but in August 2008 at the court process against Kotur he changed testimony and protected Kotur.

Kotur was arrested in Britain in November 2007, following a massive raid on his suspected illegal gambling operations, in which 400 slot machines were confiscated from 150 different locations throughout the country. Police succeeded to arrest him after journalist from Swedish TV 3 interviewed Nenad Mišović in prison and later journalists succeeded to find his phone number in London. Then police arrested him.

Originally from the former Yugoslavia, Kotur came to Sweden in the 1970s. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Kotur built up the RK Company, which operated automated poker and slot machines in pizzerias and convenience stores throughout Sweden.

Kotur's trial for instigated and attempted murders is expected to last until October 2008.

External links

* [http://www.thelocal.se/13478/20080804/ News 1 from The Local]
* [http://www.thelocal.se/13698/20080814/ News 2 from The Local]
* [http://www.kurir-info.rs/clanak/kurir-07-12-2007/kralj-kocke-atentator article in Serbian newspaper Kurir]
* [http://www.dan.cg.yu/?nivo=3&rubrika=Hronika&datum=2008-08-09&clanak=156162 article in Montenegro newspaper Dan]