Canadian gambling giant Stars Group, which has become a hot topic of involvement in Canada’s biggest insider trading case, has to overcome another problem, and media company Sglove & Mail found earlier today that Florida-based Gideon Van Kessel filed an $8 million lawsuit against the Stars Group for his work.
This Tuesday, the plaintiff filed his claim in Broward County, Florida. The man worked as a consultant and strategic advisor to the Stars Group for nearly four years. Former Amaya CEO David Bazov and Stars Group prevented Van Kessel from acquiring another gaming-related division, according to the lawsuit.
The man also claims the investigation began months after Amaya bought PokerStars parent Rational Group for $4.9 billion after Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Quebec securities regulator Autorité desmarcheés financiers raided the company in December 2014.
David Baazov’s insider trading trial nears settlement
The investigation found that Bazov and some of his alleged accomplices were charged with transaction fraud. According to the AMF, bazov used privileged information on amaya to influence the market price of amaya securities from December 2013 to June 2014. So far, no charges have been proven. The Star Group has not yet responded to requests for comment on the latest news.
In January this year, it became clear that Baazov’s insider trading trial would go ahead despite efforts to maintain the charges against him. As you may recall, Baazov’s lawyers argued for delays in bringing his case to trial. Baazov’s lawyers used the Jordan ruling, which requires all cases to be resolved within 18 months of the lawsuit. Baazov’s lawyers explained that they still have time to check the bulk of documents related to the case, and lawyers for the Maszore District Court rejected Judge Salvazore’s appeal.
Amaya confirmed its ambitious plan to open a new development stage in August last year, changed its name to The Stars Group and moved its headquarters from Montreal to Toronto, but the spirit of the past still appears to be chasing the company. It is not yet clear how all the saga related to Bazov’s insider trading case will be concluded and how it will reflect the reputation of the Starz Group.