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 info it requested about the company's financial position, according to news reports in Swedish newsprint SvD. Separately, A criminal probe has been launched by Swedish authorities as reported by SvD into potential insider dealing related to an unexplained jump in Global Gaming's share price a week before the company declared 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 shareowner. Both he and the company are grappling with debt, former Global Gaming CTO Johan Sellstrom told CNET News.

 

Ever since his announcement on his company's acquisition plan, Pandeya has declined to provide the names of his investors, who he has said will put up 60 million Swedish Kroner, or about $8.5 million, to fund the acquisition.

 

The news that has risen in the past week has called Pandeya's credibleness into question.

 

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

 

"I put The Los Angeles Times in touch with one of them who confirmed the investment," Pandeya wrote. "I also provided (Fritz) with the name of the investment bank that is overseeing the investors provided they did not divulge this. So, the DD (Pandeya presumably means "due diligence") regarding this has been done. Now, the stock market wanted the names...and I divulged the name of the investment bank (that) assured that the cash was in place. Now, The Swedish stock market and Ben Fritz know the name of the investment bank (besides the investors and us)."

 

AktieTorget affirmed that they did talk to 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 comment and would onlymention a July 31 report he co-wrote about Global Gaming with Times newsman Dawn Chmielewski entitled "Pirate Bay deal surrounded by Hollywood-style headaches."

 

The paper 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 account does not cite its source for this info nor does it remark anywhere that the newspeople 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 requested for the names of investors from Pandeya 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 received in media," Pandeya wrote. "I am afraid that they will back out if journalists start scrutinizing them."

 

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