FTP Players Still Waiting for DoJ’s Statement on Refunds
Ex Full Tilt Poker players have been getting more and more anxious during the past 10 days when news reports appeared regularly on poker news portals regarding the acquisition of the online poker giant by French investment company Groupe Bernard Tapie (GBT). So far, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has made no announcement regarding the refunding of US Full Tilt Poker players.
Behman Dayanim, the legal representative of GBT, said that the company is waiting to hear from the DoJ so that it can finalize a deal. He said that the procedure is time consuming and that GBT and DoJ have come to an oral agreement, which is currently being put down in writing.
Ten days back, ex Full Tilt Poker players were delighted to hear that they will soon gain access to their frozen poker funds, especially because Dayanim said that the a written agreement would be signed with the DoJ within a fortnight. Ex players are now wondering if the proposed acquisition of Full Tilt Poker will ever come true.
Stating that he is still optimistic, Dayanim said that there are certain factors that are not within the investment company’s control, but Laurent’s deadline of a fortnight is quite reasonable. GBT is waiting for the DoJ’s approval, and once it gets the DoJ’s approval, it has to finalize the acquisition deal with Full Tilt poker. The shareholders of FTP, however, first need to ok the deal.
According to an email sent by Ray Bitar, the chief executive officer of FTP, to the company’s shareholders, the DoJ will refund FTP’s US players while GBT will take up the responsibility of refunding ex FTP players from the rest of the world. Revealing the reasons for such an arrangement, Dayanim said: “There are two big differences between U.S. and Rest-of-World players. One difference is that the DoJ views the activity of Full Tilt in offering wagers to U.S. players as being unlawful. It doesn’t take that view with ROW players. From Tapie’s perspective, there’s a difference in that the ROW players will continue to be players with a re-launched site. Contrastingly, Tapie will have no further interaction with U.S. players.”
FTP players also want to know when FTP will be re-launched as a full-fledged online poker room. Dayanim explained that it is a “two-step process,” with the first step being an agreement with the DoJ and the next step being an agreement with FTP. He also said: “Then, there needs to be a period of due diligence. Once that period closes, if we close on the acquisition, then we’ll be able to get the site running in short order. In terms of reimbursing players, it all depends on the details of the agreement with the DoJ.”
Chris Ferguson has recently filed some documents in the district court, but these appear to be unrelated to FTP’s acquisition deal with GBT. Dayanim has confirmed that the French investment company has nothing to do with filing these claims and that they will in no way affect GBT’s agreement with the DoJ.
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