It was mentioned by Pandeya last Friday after Sweded stock exchange AktieTorget halted trading in Global Gaming's shares when it did not receive all the data it requested about the company's financial situation, according to reports in Swedish newspaper SvD. Separately,  into possible insider trading related to an mysterious jump in Global Gaming's share price a week before the firm announced 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 firm are squirming with debt, former Global Gaming CTO Johan Sellstrom told CNET News.

 

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

 

Pandeya's credibility is doubt after what has risen in the past week

 

But in a lengthy e-mail exchange with CNET News on Friday, 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 newsman 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 overseeing the investors provided they did not disclose this. So, the DD (Pandeya presumably means "due diligence") construing this has been done. Now, the stock market requested the names...and I gave them the name of the investment banking company (that) assured that the money was in place. Now, Ben Fritz and the Swedish stock market know the identity of the investment bank (besides the investors and us)."

 

AktieTorget confirmed that they did speak with someone claiming to be an investor. Officials, however, wanted more certification and it was unavailable Friday. AktieTorget won't allow trading to resume in Global Gaming until it receives more evidence that Global Gaming possesses enough money to complete the acquisition.

 

In a phone interview, Fritz declined to comment and would only refer to a July 31 account he co-wrote about Global Gaming with Times newsperson Dawn Chmielewski entitled "Pirate Bay deal surrounded by Hollywood-style headaches."

 

The report 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 reporters 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 the same terms he offered to Fritz, and I promised not to write about them until after Thursday. That's the day he has said The Pirate Bay acquisition will be finished.

 

"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 afraid that they will back 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 weigh in on the dispute if he had this information? There are lots of questions still unanswered about Global Gaming.