Full Tilt update: FTP insists Irish account unfrozen
Full Tilt explain unfrozen account is not one of those listed in the 15 April indictments - US Attorney's Office declare "nothing in the public record" to suggest there had been "any unfreezing".
Full Tilt Poker has insisted it has had an Irish bank account unfrozen, despite the US Department of Justice officially denying that any funds have been released, eGaming Review has learned.
Following speculation on various websites since eGaming Review revealed FTP had been able to access a sum amounting to more than one third of the funds owed to players, a company source told this publication the account in question is not one of those named in the original indictment, but a separate corporate account held with the Bank of Ireland.
Consistent with his comments on Friday, the source explained that Full Tilt had to approach the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in order to reassure the bank it was safe to unfreeze the account.
“The bank was not one of those subject to the Department of Justice freezing order, but the DoJ did need to call the Bank of Ireland to get it unfrozen,” he explained.
“After Black Friday, the bank took it upon itself to freeze the account, and in order to convince them to reopen it we needed to go through the DoJ.”
A spokeswoman for the Attorney’s Office confirmed to eGaming Review the unfreezing of any accounts listed in the 15 April indictments would be accompanied by an official press release, however she added there was “nothing in the public record” to suggest there had been “any unfreezing” and that it would be “published in the public record if that was the case”.
Furthermore, when asked by eGaming Review about the alleged contact between the DoJ and the Bank of Ireland, the spokeswoman refused to deny this as a possibility.
At the time of writing the USAO was unable to confirm whether it had been approached by Full Tilt over the unfreezing of non-indicted accounts.
When asked whether the DoJ would unfreeze any Full Tilt accounts in order for funds to be returned to US players the USAO spokeswoman said she was “unable to speculate about future events”.
The Bank of Ireland refused to comment on matters regarding Full Tilt Poker.
Meanwhile Tiltware has issued a statement in response to the lawsuit brought against the company this week by Team Full Tilt member Phil Ivey, describing Ivey’s statement yesterday as “sanctimonious.”
The Tiltware statement, relayed through Pokernews, goes on to suggest that “Phil Ivey’s meritless lawsuit is about helping just one player “ himself.
“In fact, Mr Ivey has been invited “ and has declined “ to take actions that could assist the company in these efforts, including paying back a large sum of money he owes the site,” alleges the company, adding that “Tiltware doubts Mr Ivey’s frivolous and self-serving lawsuit will ever get to court.”
At the time of writing, eGaming Review is awaiting further comment from Tiltware’s legal representatives in the case, which has been filed in the District Court of Clark County in Nevada.