After years of financial scandal, French entrepreneur Bernard Tapie is risking more controversy with his involvement in leading a rescue of Full Tilt Poker, it has been reported.
Often for his involvement in financial scandals, Tapie has been prominent in France for almost 30 years and was jailed in 1997 for match-rigging when he controlled football club Olympique de Marseille.
His son, Laurent Tapie, managing director of his father’s holding company, has signed an agreement for Groupe Bernard Tapie, which owns around 30 per cent in International Stadiums Poker Tour, to buy Full Tilt and its assets and repay money owed to Full Tilt’s players it was reported on Reuters yesterday.
In an interview with the iGambling France site, Laurent Tapie said his company has "the funds necessary to repay player debts" but that that there was "still a long way to go" before a final deal could be reached.
Bernard Tapie reportedly told Agence France Presse that his group may end up controlling "at most" five-10 per cent of a new shareholding structure for Full Tilt.
According to US lawyer for Full Tilt Jeff Ifrah, Tapie’s group will begin talks on Monday in the hope of reaching an agreement with the Department of Justice.
US federal prosecutors recently accused Full Tilt of running a Ponzi scheme, which saw its licence revoked by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission last week.
