Amaya Gaming has provided an update on the investigation into its business interests by the Quebec securities regulatory authority, the Autorité des marchés financiers (the AMF), regarding the acquisition of the Oldford Group on June 12, 2014.
There is confirmation that Amaya’s employees are being investigated, which also includes chief executive officer David Baazov and chief financial officer Daniel Sebag.
According to a company statement:
“A court order seal has been and remains in place with respect to details of the investigation by the AMF; Amaya is not permitted by law to disclose further details surrounding the AMF investigation.”
"To date, the AMF has neither threatened nor initiated any legal proceedings against the Corporation or its employees. Amaya has also not been provided with any evidence that any officers, directors, or other employees violated any securities laws or regulations," said Ben Soave, retired chief superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a member of Amaya's Compliance Committee and an advisor to the Corporation's Board of Directors.
"Nonetheless, as we previously announced, the Corporation conducted an internal review, supervised by its independent board members with the assistance of external legal counsel, which thoroughly reviewed the relevant internal activities surrounding the Oldford Group acquisition. This review found no evidence of any violations of Canadian securities laws or regulations."
"Amaya's independent board members have been following this issue very closely and we fully support David Baazov, Daniel Sebag and Amaya's management team," said Dave Gadhia, Amaya's Lead Director and independent board member, and the former Executive Vice Chairman and chief executive officer of Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Inc. "The Corporation is not aware of any reasonable basis for proceedings against Amaya or its directors, officers or employees. We will continue to cooperate with the AMF and intend to provide further updates on the investigation if and when it is permitted."
"We have been cooperating with the AMF since the announcement of our acquisition of Oldford Group," said Baazov. "I believe that any concerns that I or other Amaya officers or directors violated any Canadian securities laws are unfounded and we are confident that at the end of its investigation, the AMF will come to the same conclusion."
The AMF has not yet filed any charges or begun proceedings.