PokerStars Parent Company Amaya Under Investigation
It has been revealed that the Quebec securities regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) is investigating trading activity in Amaya, the new parent company of PokerStars. The matter also involves two other companies: Canaccord Genuity and Manulife Financial.
Amaya’s statement asserts that “[t]o the Corporation’s knowledge, this does not involve any allegations of wrongdoing by the Corporation.”
OnlinePokerReport.com has done a good job of breaking it all down. This includes featuring a timeline of events.
The investigation timeline
- December 10 (time unknown): Agents from the AMF, accompanied by the RCMP, visit the offices of Amaya, Canaccord Genuity and Manulife Financial. All three offices are searched. AMF officials reportedly requested and received a list of trading activity from Canaccord.
- December 11, 7:13 PM EST: Forbes publishes the first known report of the incident. This report became the primary source for most subsequent reporting.
December 11, 10:47 EST: Amaya releases a statement on the Forbes report.
OnlinePokerReport.com also questioned the focus of the report:
The only description of the investigation offered so far has come via Amaya.
Their statement described it as “an investigation with regards to trading activities in Amaya securities surrounding the Corporation’s acquisition of Oldford Group in 2014.”
As it turns out, that’s a fairly broad field.
Investigation could focus on pre-purchase run up
A popular theory is that the investigation is focused on trading during the surge that precipitated the announcement of Amaya’s planned acquisition of PokerStars.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
