PokerStars Buyer Brought to Court by Quebec Securities Regulator

The trial will start in Montreal, on Monday and is set to be the largest of its kind ever prosecuted by AMF, the Quebec securities regulator.

Baazov, together with five co-accused including Benjamin Ahdoot, a reported childhood friend, Amaya consultant Yoel Altman, and three Ontario-based businesses controlled by Altman will start the trial by filing a motion to dismiss the case claiming that it was botched and can’t be processed within a reasonable time.

This happens more than three years after Baazov’s USD 4.9 B PokerStars deal turned his company, Amaya Inc into one of the world’s largest online gambling businesses.

Baazov’s Amaya Inc. won the backing of Wall Street investors such as Blackstone Group LP for his 2014 purchase of PokerStars owner Rational Group Ltd., a bold move for a company that had reported about $140 million in revenue the previous year. The AMF probe alleges that the accused used privileged information to trade Amaya shares between December 2013 -- when Baazov first met the owners of PokerStars in person -- through June 2014, when the transaction was announced.

Amaya shares rose more than 50 percent in the month before the PokerStars deal was announced.

The former chief executive officer, who has denied wrongdoing, took a leave of absence in March 2016 after being charged and later cut ties with Amaya. He then unsuccessfully tried to take the company private and ended up selling most of his stake. Baazov still owns almost 4 percent of the company, a stake worth about USD 134 M.

Amaya has since relocated from Montreal to Toronto, renamed itself The Stars Group Inc., and regained investor confidence as Baazov’s successor Rafi Ashkenazi lowered debt, overhauled the management team and beefed up online casino and sports betting offerings.

The five charges against Baazov include “aiding with trades while in possession of privileged information,” influencing or attempting to influence the market price of Amaya securities, and communicating privileged information. Baazov, as well as the co-accused, have all pleaded not guilty.

According to AMF’s spokesman Sylvain, of all of the insider trading cases prosecuted by the AMF in the past five years, Amaya’s size stands out because of the amounts at stake and the number of documents seized.