Former Amaya CEO David Baazov Was at the Head of An Insider Trading Ring, Claims AMF

David Baazov
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  • PG News September 11, 2016
  • 2 Minutes Read

It took David Baazov (cover image) almost a decade to transform his online gaming company Amaya from a penny stock into the industry leader it is today with revenues of $1.37 Billion in 2015 alone. However his legal troubles continue.

Less than a month after he resigned from all positions at the company he founded and served as the CEO, skeletons are coming tumbling out of his cupboard. A report in the Canadian outlet The Globe and Mail claimed Baazov allegedly was at the head of a pyramid of kickbacks received from insider trading.

According to Quebec securities regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), Baazov used his position as CEO of the company to pass on private privileged information to his close associates, including his brother Josh Baazov, which was used to profit by buying and selling shares of Amaya stock in advance of company developments.

“The allegations demonstrate a high level of organization and sophistication,” say the AMF documents which pointed out that Baazov provided details about upcoming transactions to his brother Josh aka Ofer Baazov and ex-Amaya consultant Craig Levett, from whom the insider information trickled down to friends, family and business associates.

AMF stated the deals involved a 10% kickback of net profits for the information.

The elder Baazov and Levett were previously linked to BetonUSA.com, a US-facing online gambling site that appears to have morphed into Oddsmaker.ag following the 2006 passage of America’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Baazov was charged in March with five counts, including influencing or attempting to influence the market price of the securities of Amaya. But the 35-year-old, who first took temporary leave and then formally resigned last month as CEO, vehemently denied all the allegations. “Baazov has been categorical: He did not receive anything,” wrote Baazov’s spokesman, Ian Robertson, in an email.

“Baazov is innocent of any wrongdoing and he is eager to present his defense,” a spokesman for Baazov added.

The regulator disagrees claiming Baazov’s transgressions date to at least 2010. Just before Amaya acquired PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, its stock roughly doubled in value. Profits from the illegal trading are estimated at $1.5 million.

On Wednesday, Baazov’s lawyer formerly filed a notice contesting the new allegations. All said and done, Baazov`s stay at the company he founded is over and he is now staring at the possibility of shelling out substantial penalties for the charges pressed against him by the Canadian authorities.

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