TROUBLED BETEX DELISTED

26 October 2007

But company execs claim the firm remains active in China despite regional problems


Readers will recall the trials and tribulations that UK-listed lottery company Betex went through earlier this year when three company employees were arrested by the Chinese authorities on suspicion of running an illegal betting business, effectively disrupting the company's operations at the time.

A month after the arrests previous chief executive Peter Greenhill and finance director Stuart Barker left the company after it emerged that the firm could not gain guarantees from the Chinese authorities that the pair would not themselves be arrested in China.

The shares have remained suspended ever since.

This week, the sequel was published by eGaming Review, which reported that Betex had de-listed its shares on the London AIM. Despite this blow to progress, however, company executive Jeremy Longley told eGR that the Betex lottery infrastructure in China is "still operational."

Longley said the firm was “confident” that the company employees who were arrested in China back in April would be charged as individuals and that the firm itself would avoid any charges.

That optimistic comment was leavened with the observation that although the company itself had not been implicated in the conduct leading to the arrests, had not been charged with any offence and had not had its financial facilities frozen, it still "....could not be 100% sure that it would be involved criminally until the Chinese authorities formally charged the individuals involved."

Longley told eGR he hoped that this would happen by December. He added that although that side of the Betex venture in China had been brought to a halt, other [unspecified] parts of the business had continued to operate and were making money in the Chinese market.

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