The island of Anjouan, rising out of the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar, is a corner of the Earth that few people have heard of, let alone laid eyes on. Known as Nzwani in the local language, this tiny volcanic island – one of a collection that make up the Union of Comoros – counts ylang-ylang oil and vanilla among its chief exports. Yet Anjouan has stumbled into a role at the heart of a much more dangerous but highly lucrative industry: underground online gambling.
The African island has become notorious for selling licences to rogue casinos, many operating illegally. Some appear to be targeting vulnerable customers, while others have been accused of refusing to pay out winnings. At least one appears to be chasing British gamblers, via high-profile stunts involving the porn actor Bonnie Blue and the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson.
But Anjouan is not some maverick backwater, wilfully flouting international law. Instead, the island’s name seems to have been co-opted by a small cadre of mostly British businessmen flogging unofficial “licences” for banking, cryptocurrency trading and, it appears, gambling, all from the safety of a leafy London suburb 5,000 miles away. Now though, the island is fighting back – and it wants Britain’s help.
Based in a drab four-storey office block in the London suburb of Finchley, the Sherm Group is an apparently respectable but nondescript family business. Sherm owns a property portfolio worth more than £25m and claims to offer ancillary services including asset finance and even private jet and helicopter travel. The company keeps a relatively low profile but the same cannot be said of its managing director, 57-year-old Elliot Sorsky.
Sorsky’s LinkedIn page reveals a keen interest in property but also a visceral dislike of Keir Starmer, chiefly expressed in angry responses to policy measures designed to protect renters. The profile also reveals an apparent talent for exaggeration. Sorsky, the page claimed until recently, holds degrees from Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford, including one in property maintenance and real estate.
Oxford said it had never offered a “real estate” degree and Sorsky’s LinkedIn page has since been deleted. If Sorsky was bluffing, he may have picked up the skill at the poker table. Highlights from this year’s Irish Poker Open posted on YouTube showed Sorsky battling international cardsharps, albeit with limited success.
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