Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet and Pokerstars Costa Rica offices raided
Three poker operators' offices raided in Costa Rica - local media reports suggest authorities seaching for owners of AP and UB - Stars office re-opens after 200 staff temporarily sent home.
The Costa Rican offices of Pokerstars, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet were raided earlier today by the local police, eGaming Review has learned.
Late this morning several members of the Organismo de Investigaciones Judiciale raided the local offices of the three poker companies allegedly in connection with the US federal indictments unsealed by the Department of Justice on 15 April this year. According to various local media reports in Costa Rica the authorities are said to be attempting to locate the whereabouts of the owners of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet.
The Pokerstars office in Costa Rica, that reportedly contains around 200 staff, was also raided and the employees temporarily sent home, however according to one of the operator’s VIP manager’s, known only as ‘Pokerstars Steve’ following a post on the Two Plus Two Forums, staff have since returned and it is “business as usual”.
“Pokerstars continues to operate the world’s largest poker room, business as usual. “It is true the OIJ is currently at the Pokerstars Costa Rican office and has sent employees home temporarily, but employees will be able to return in a few hours,” he posted earlier today.
It is unclear as to why the Stars office was targeted, however Pokerstars Steve added the action was most likely taken as a “response to problems experienced by other local companies in the same industry”.
An official Pokerstars statement released to eGaming Review just before midnight UK time said: “Costa Rican officials today visited PokerStars’ customer service centre in Costa Rica in order to review the operations. We co-operated fully with the officials and following their review, the customer service centre was re-opened with the approval of the local authorities.”
Earlier today Blanca Games, which operates the Cereus network to which Absolute Poker belongs, issued a statement denying speculation it had filed for bankruptcy, however, following the announcement last month that Absolute had entered into discussions with the US Attorney’s Office regarding the return of its dot.com domain, Blanca admitted it is turning its attention to non-US operations and, as a result, will significantly downsize.
Meanwhile, its Norwegian debt holder Madeira Fjord has filed for bankruptcy following the termination of debt payments from Blanca.
A local television channel has released footage of the Absolute Poker raid where documents and computers were allegedly seized.
In a statement Blanca Games announced that as a result of restructuring and focusing its resources on consolidating its non-US operation and software business it would immediately “liquidate” its workforce.
It said the decision had come after “considerable review and analysis of the impact that ‘Black Friday’ has had on the business as a whole”.
“The workforce has been liquidated, and the process of rehiring approximately 20% of staff in key positions has commenced. All affected employees have been informed of this necessary restructure.”
A company spokesperson added: “We regret that we have been compelled to take these actions. We have worked tirelessly to create a truly amazing company that is filled with extraordinary people. We have always been and still remain fully committed to our employees and players. At the same time, we are confident that this restructuring will strengthen the company and its future.”
The statement added: “As confirmed earlier this week, the company’s legal counsel is in continuing discussions this week with the US Attorney’s office to formaliSe an agreement that would facilitate the return of funds to US players.”