The insider trading trial involving former Amaya CEO David Baazov is set to proceed sometime before the end of this winter. This Monday, Quebec judge Salvatore Mascia refused to dismiss Baazov’s insider trading charges and announced that prosecutors will present evidence against the former Amaya CEO in the coming weeks.
David Baazov and his co-defendants Yoel Altman and Benjamin Ahdoot will need to appear in court, after it became clear that Quebec judge Salvatore Mascia dismissed Baazov’s plea to throw out the charges against them. In November last year, it surfaced that Baazov’s attorneys had filed a legal motion with the Court of Quebec in an attempt to stay the charges against their client due to delays in the proceedings.
According to Baazov’s attorneys, the prosecution failed to bring his case in a timely manner and the court should dismiss all charges against Mr. Baazov. Baazov’s initial hearing was scheduled to start on Nov. 20, but the court reportedly started to examine a hard drive containing 16 million documents too late, giving no time to Baazov’s lawyers to properly analyze the files before the trial.
Baazov’s lawyers pointed out to the so-called Jordan ruling, which requires all cases to be resolved within 18 months after being filed. In that sense, the attorneys claimed that all charges against their client should be thrown out. In December, Judge Mascia allowed the trial to proceed, but Mascia suggested he was still considering David Baazov’s stay request. According to the latest news, one of the biggest insider trading scandals in Canadian history is set to proceed in the coming weeks, after Judge Mascia opted to hear the testimonies of 50 witnesses.
David Baazov Insider Trading Case Set to Go Forward
In March 2016, the security regulator of the Canadian province of Quebec, and more precisely Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), filed 23 charges against David Baazov, following a trading investigation into Canadian online gambling operator Amaya Inc.
The charges relate to allegations about the use of privileged information about Amaya in an attempt to influence Amaya securities’ market price. Mr. Baazov was charged with aiding with trades while in possession of classified information about Amaya. At that moment, none of the allegations has been proven and the defendants pleaded not guilty to the insider trading charges.
Mr. Baazov’s trial will be finally underway in the coming weeks, but it is hard to predict how much time it will take for the trial to be resolved. Baazov was originally charged in March 2016, but all the delays protracted bringing his case to trial. Almost three years later, the defendant will reportedly stand trial on insider trading charges.
