Gibraltar Corruption

Is there still Rule of Law in Gibraltar? Is there corruption in the local police?

Are employees' Human Rights protected? Is there a mafia in Gibraltar?

How corrupt are the Courts in Gibraltar? Is Entain a bad employer?

Hassans has many fingers in many pies.

According to the Hassans website: "Hassans International Law Firm is the largest and leading law firm in Gibraltar, providing top-notch legal services to clients across a broad range of practice areas. ... With a team of over 80 lawyers and support staff, the firm has the resources and expertise to provide clients with tailor-made solutions to their legal needs."

the above statement is a prime example of the well-known arrogance of this law firm, which is as well shown in their choice of domain name: www.gibraltarlaw.com. Hassans do not only practice law, they see themselves as the law in Gibraltar. Some would even go further and claim that Hassans think that they stand ABOVE the law.

One of Hassans' top lawyers used to be David Dumas QC. The eye catcher statement on Mr Dumas' page on the Hassans website read: “You have to start from the position that whatever the client needs, you can deliver. The default setting has to be 'yes'.” The question here is, how far was Mr Dumas prepared to go to deliver what he promised his clients? This question is very relevant as Mr Dumas represented GVC/Entain in my Employment Tribunal case and did so with a heavy handed, aggressive and brutal style. Mr Dumas had been a Tribunal Chairman himself, so he was perfectly well aware of what the rules were, specifically the Overriding Objective of the Tribunal that states: "The overriding objective of these Rules is to enable the Employment Tribunal to deal with cases fairly and justly. Dealing with a case fairly and justly includes, so far as practicable, ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing, dealing with cases in ways which are proportionate to the complexity and importance of the issues, avoiding unnecessary formality and seeking flexibility in the proceedings, avoiding delay so far as compatible with proper consideration of the issues and saving expense. ... The parties and their representatives shall assist the Tribunal to further the overriding objective and in particular shall co-operate generally with each other and with the Tribunal." During the time Mr Dumas represented GVC/Entain in my employment case, he broke almost every single rule of this Overriding Objective. Referring again to Mr Dumas' eye catcher statement “You have to start from the position that whatever the client needs, you can deliver. The default setting has to be 'yes'.” What exactly has he promised GVC/Entain to achieve? Win their lost cause AT ALL COSTS AND BY ALL MEANS although that seemed legally impossible, perhaps? In my experience, this was exactly what he did, no matter how many rules or regulations had to be broken.

Hassans is the biggest law firm by far and heavily dominating Gibraltar's legal market. The influence of this law firm is enormous. 3 out of Gibraltar's 9 Government Ministers are from Hassans: Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, Minister for Justice Nigel Feetham (who visited Entain twice (why?)) and Minister for Business Gemma Arias Vasquez. These 3 Hassans Government Ministers dominate the Ministries dealing with Entain, which puts them in positions where they could possibly manipulate a court case by pulling some strings or whispering in people's ears. Judge Restano from the Supreme Court comes from Hassans (1 of 4 Judges), as well as Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Bonfante. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) is the "independent" statutory body responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in Gibraltar, including disciplinary proceedings against lawyers. The first CEO of the LSRA was David Dumas, from Hassans and the second LSRA CEO is Francis Muscat, who as well worked for Hassans. The Gibraltar Police Authority runs the Police Complaints Board and is chaired by Peter Montegriffo, from Hassans. It cannot be a surprise that the Senior Partner of Hassans, James Levy, is locally nicknamed: "the real Chief Minister of Gibraltar".

Hassans have over the last 7 years represented GVC/Entain, one of the largest gaming companies in the world with billions of pounds of gaming and gambling revenue each year. This gives GVC/Entain a quasi unlimited budget to spend on court cases. This made it impossible for me to find a Gibraltarian lawyer willing to represent me and I was condemned to represent myself all those years. I believe that both the Employment Tribunal Chairmen presiding over my case found it hard to go against Hassans, I guess that they feared the negative repercussions it could have on their own small law firms they ran. Imagine the extreme stress and pressure this must have put on a victim of bullying at work at Entain. Not that Entain cared...

A revealing publication by GBC News on 11 Apr 2025: "The lawyer for the former Commissioner of Police, Ian McGrail, said Gibraltar faces a choice between the rule of law or a reality 'where some men are more equal than others'. Adam Wagner KC said the reconvened Inquiry hearing had been a 'stalking horse' for Hassans."
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