Panama Papers expose link to Amaya Gaming insider trading investigation

The so-called Panama Papers, which detail the use of shell companies by the planet’s rich and powerful, contain possible links to the insider trading scandal involving Canadian online gambling operator Amaya Gaming.

This weekend’s release of 11.5m confidential documents belonging to Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca has already prompted the Prime Minister of Iceland to resign and many other prominent figures are expected to find themselves in similarly sticky wickets as their shadowy business connections are brought to light.

The documents may also factor into the insider trading charges laid against Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov last month by Quebec securities regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), which prompted David to announce last week that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence while the brouhaha played itself out.

Among the companies listed in the Panama Papers is Zhapa Holdings Inc, a British Virgin Islands business whose master client is listed as IMF Network, a company based in Amaya’s corporate home of Montreal, Quebec. Among Zhapa’s listed shareholders are Goulissa Baazov, whom Canada’s Globe & Mail newspaper identified as the sister of David and his older brother Ofer Baazov aka Josh Baazov.