Rade Kotur
Encyclopedia
Rade Kotur, born circa 1952 is a Bosnian Serb living in Sweden
, where he has run a gambling empire and been involved in organized crime
. Swedish newspapers have dubbed him "The Gambling King". In March 2009, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for instigating a murder
, illegal gambling, and various forms of tax evasion
.
, northern Bosnia, and was educated as a car mechanic. He moved to Sweden in 1972. One of his interests was karate
, and he has earned a black belt
in the sport.
Kotur bought a café in Gothenburg
suburb Bergsjön
in the 1980s, which he made into a pizzeria. This pizzeria was later transformed into his gambling company RK Company, with the name taken from Kotur's initials. 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.
According to the prosecutor, the Kotur's gambling business had a turnover of at least 463 million kronor ($74 million) between January 1, 2005 and November 13, 2007. Kotur was 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 was 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 United Kingdom
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 Sweden. Police succeeded to arrest him after journalist from Swedish TV3
interviewed Nenad Mišović
in prison and later journalists succeeded to find his phone number in London. Then police arrested him.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, where he has run a gambling empire and been involved in organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. Swedish newspapers have dubbed him "The Gambling King". In March 2009, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for instigating a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, illegal gambling, and various forms of tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
.
Biography
Kotur was born in DraksenicDraksenić
Draksenić is a village in the municipality of Bosanska Dubica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.-References:...
, northern Bosnia, and was educated as a car mechanic. He moved to Sweden in 1972. One of his interests was karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, and he has earned a black belt
Black belt (martial arts)
In martial arts, the black belt is a way to describe a graduate of a field where a practitioner's level is often marked by the color of the belt. The black belt is commonly the highest belt color used and denotes a degree of competence. It is often associated with a teaching grade though...
in the sport.
Kotur bought a café in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
suburb Bergsjön
Bergsjön
Bergsjön is a district in eastern Gothenburg, Sweden. On January 1, 2011, Bergsjön and Kortedala together became the Eastern District of Gothenburg, as a part of a larger reorganization of the City of Gothenburg where the number of district councils has been halved to ten. Bergsjön, as part of...
in the 1980s, which he made into a pizzeria. This pizzeria was later transformed into his gambling company RK Company, with the name taken from Kotur's initials. 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.
Criminal activities
Kotur's gambling empire also included unlicensed, illegal gambling machines. Already in 1978, Kotur had been convicted of tampering with a slot machine. In 1990, 1993, 2002 he was convicted on illegal gambling charges and for breaking the Lottery Act.According to the prosecutor, the Kotur's gambling business had a turnover of at least 463 million kronor ($74 million) between January 1, 2005 and November 13, 2007. Kotur was 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 was 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
Nenad Mišovic
Nenad Mišović is a Serbian-born Swedish resident sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Ratko Djokić in May 2003. The prosecution argued that Mišović worked as a hit man on behalf of gangster Rade Kotur...
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 United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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 Sweden. Police succeeded to arrest him after journalist from Swedish TV3
TV3 (Sweden)
TV3 is a television channel targeted at a Swedish language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded on 31 December 1987 by entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck as joint Scandinavian channel, but Denmark and Norway soon got their own versions of TV3...
interviewed Nenad Mišović
Nenad Mišovic
Nenad Mišović is a Serbian-born Swedish resident sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Ratko Djokić in May 2003. The prosecution argued that Mišović worked as a hit man on behalf of gangster Rade Kotur...
in prison and later journalists succeeded to find his phone number in London. Then police arrested him.
External links
- Article about Kotur from The LocalThe LocalThe Local is an English-language online news portal localised for Sweden, Germany, France and Switzerland. Each site, while alike in appearance, has separate editorial teams, each focused on its respective market....
- Article about Kotur in Serbian newspaper KurirKurirKurir is a high-circulation daily tabloid published in Belgrade. Its first issue appeared at the news stands on May 6, 2003.Kurirs tone is abrasive, direct and irreverent. It runs sensationalist stories, the other publications won't touch...
- Article about Kotur in Montenegro newspaper DanDan (newspaper)Dan is a daily newspaper published in Montenegro. Its first issue appeared on December 31, 1998. It took its name from the old day Cetinje monthly newspaper that was published in the old Montenegrin state at the beginning of the 20th century...