The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is conducting an investigation into the trading of securities of online gambling firm Amaya Inc. around the time the company acquired the Oldford Group on June 12, 2014, the Pointe Claire, Que.-based firm confirmed Monday.
The investigation involves senior executives at the firm, including CEO David Baazov and Chief Financial Officer Daniel Sebag, says Amaya, although it adds that the investigation does not involve any personal trading by the two men. “The AMF has neither announced any proceedings nor filed any charges,” Amaya (TSX:AYA) notes.
A sealed court order remains in place regarding the investigation, Amaya says, and the company is not permitted to disclose any further details. However, the AMF did authorize Amaya to confirm the existence of the 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 RCMP, who is a member of Amaya’s compliance committee and has been an advisor to its board since 2012.
“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 says.
“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.”
“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, the firm’s lead director and independent board member. “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.”
The firm notes that the “AMF has not in any way endorsed” these statements from the firm on the findings of its own investigation.