It was mentioned by Pandeya last Friday after Swedish stock exchange AktieTorget halted trading in Global Gaming's shares when it did not receive all the information it requested about the company's financial situation, according to reports in Swedish newspaper SvD. Separately, SvD reported that Swedish authorities have launched a criminal investigation into potential insider trading related to an mysterious jump in Global Gaming's share price a week before the firm proclaimed its intention to buy The Pirate Bay. Questions have also been raised about the financial health of Global Gaming and of Pandeya himself, who is the company's largest stockholder. Both he and the company are squirming with debt, former Global Gaming CTO Johan Sellstrom told CNET News.

 

Since heralding on June 30 his company's plan to acquire The Pirate Bay, Pandeya has declined to provide the lists of his investors, who he has said will put up 60 million Swedish Kroner, or about $8.5 million, to fund the acquisition.

 

What has risen recently has called Pandeya's credibility into question.

 

However, according to CNET News, Pandeya said that besides turning over investors' lists to government officials from the stock market, he has also given the names to Ben Fritz, a media reporter with the LA Times.

 

"I put The Los Angeles Times in touch with one of them who assured the investment," Pandeya wrote. "I also provided (Fritz) with the name of the investment bank that is managing the investors provided they did not expose this. So, the DD (Pandeya presumably means "due diligence") construing this has been done. Now, the stock market needed the names...and I revealed the name of the investment banking company (that) assured that the money was in place. Now, Both the Swedish stock market and Fritz know the identity of the investment bank (besides the investors and us)."

 

AktieTorget officials confirmed in a statement posted online that they did address someone claiming to be an investor. Officials, however, wanted more documentation and it was unavailable Friday. AktieTorget won't allow trading to resume in Global Gaming until it receives more proof that Global Gaming possesses enough money to complete the acquisition.

 

In a phone interview, Fritz declined to remark and would onlymention a July 31 story he co-wrote about Global Gaming with Times newsman Dawn Chmielewski entitled "Pirate Bay deal surrounded by Hollywood-style headaches."

 

The account mentions that Global Gaming "has commitments from more than 30 private investors to provide the approximately $4 million cash portion of (The Pirate Bay) merger." The newspaper report does not cite its source for this information nor does it mention anywhere that the newsmen spoke to any of the company's financial backers.

 

A review of Latimes.com did not turn up any other stories by Fritz about Global Gaming or The Pirate Bay.

 

I asked Pandeya for the names of the investors under similar conditions he offered to Fritz, and I promised not to reveal them until after Thursday. That's the day he has said The Pirate Bay acquisition will be completed.

 

"We agreed to keep their names secret until after the acquisition because they are confused and strongly afraid of  the blasting I have met in media," Pandeya wrote. "I am concerned that they will pull out if journalists start scrutinizing them."

 

But if this is the situation, then why would he give the names to Fritz? Why wouldn't Fritz press in on the dispute if he had this info? There are lots of questions still unanswered about Global Gaming.