Full Tilt Working on Settlement in 2009 Account Seizures
It appears that Full Tilt Poker is actually making some type of progress towards getting one of their legal matters resolved. Unfortunately, it is one from 2009.
Back in 2009, the United States District Court of Maryland filed a Verified Complain for Forfeiture against four bank accounts located in Switzerland. Two of those accounts were located at the Basler Kantonalbank in Basel and belonged to Ranston Ltd. Ranston Ltd is one of the companies that comprises Full Tilt Poker.
The case was sealed at that point and remained such until October 12th when a Government’s Motion to Unseal was filed and subsequently granted. This made the information available to the public.
The unsealing of the case made a letter from US Attorney Rod J Rosenstein and Assistant US Attorney Richard C. Kay to US District Judge Catherine C. Blake regarding the case available to the public.
In the letter she was told that Ranston Ltd and the District of Maryland were in discussions towards a settlement and that the government has agreed to waive all filing time limits for the company while settlement discussions are proceeding. A status report will be filed on December 21st, 2011 if the case isn’t resolved at that time.
At this time, there are no figures being released as to the amount of money that is being held in the seized accounts. Also, while it is assumed this is in conjunction with the Group Bernard Tapie’s attempt to buy the company, Full Tilt has not released any statements.
This could mean a couple of things. First, if the settlement is successful and the amount released is significant enough, it could lead to the buyout being completed or at least show significant progress to the Tapie Group to continue working towards that end.
Secondly, it may provide a springboard towards resolving the Black Friday civil suits against Full Tilt Poker. Perhaps the legal team can work out a bulk settlement and put an end to this matter altogether.
This is all speculation at the moment as it is unknown the true amount of money in the accounts. We will bring you further developments on this case as they occur.