CHINESE COMPLICATIONS FOR BETEX

4 May 2007

Frozen bank accounts and arrested company employees in a confusing situation

It's been almost two weeks since the Betex group announced that three of its employees were arrested by Chinese authorities, and this week the company issued a further statement that if anything adds more confusion on what is legal and what is illegal in the Asian country.

Legal information reaching Betex, it appears, indicates that the detained employees face allegations of “involvement in the crimes of ‘gambling’ and ‘illegal operations’”. A senior staff member was detained in his capacity as the legal representative of Betex’s Chinese software consultancy operating company Beijing Lottery Technology Company (BLTD).

A more junior BLTD employee was detained, too along with an agent contracted to BLTD.

Police authorities have apparently frozen two BLTD bank accounts connected with the operation of the software product but there have been no restrictions placed on the company’s other accounts.

Betex added: “The lawyers’ opinion issued to the company is that neither the staff member acting in the capacity of the legal representative of BLTD, nor BLTD itself, will be convicted of the crime of gambling. The lawyers have confirmed that under the Chinese Criminal Litigation Law there is no claim against the company arising from the investigation into BLTD.”

If you can understand all of that, you're doing better than we are!

Footnote: As we went to press this week news was coming in that Betex has again postponed the publication of its preliminary results for 2006, citing continuing uncertainty.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

More news here.

Top of page | Home | News | Forum | Webcast | Vortran | Accredited Casinos | Evil Ones | Pitch a Bitch | Online Gambling Resources | Poker