An independent, external review of the processes leading up to the suspension and eventual revocation of licenses owned by Full Tilt Poker (FTP) will be launched by the Alderney Gaming Control Commission (AGCC). The decision for the investigation has been made to provide full transparency of the actions taken against FTP, whose license was revoked on September 29th, 2011, and still owes as much as $330 million to its customers at this date.
"As soon as we became aware that there were possible irregularities in relation to FTP’s operational integrity AGCC acted to discharge fully our statutory obligations," said André Wilsenach, AGCC’s executive director. "We believe we acted appropriately and fairly at all times but, following our own internal assessment and the inevitable questions that have been raised by third parties, the Commission decided that it is in the best interests of players, license holders and AGCC itself to commission an independent review and to make the outcome public."
October, 2011, found the AGCC admitting to the BBC that due to several problems with payment processors, Full Tilt Poker continuously reported funds that were not available. Instead of auditing the online poker site, the AGCC trusted Full Tilt's accounting department to be correct with the numbers reported.
The focus of the upcoming review will be on "appropriateness, timeliness and fairness of the actions undertaken" by the AGCC.
Peter Dean, former Chairman of the British Gambling Commission has been appointed by the AGCC to conduct the review. During 1998 to 2007 Dean served with the Gambling Commission and was the deputy chairman of the U.K.'s Monopolies and Mergers Commission from 1990 to 1997.
"I am delighted that Peter Dean has agreed to conduct the review," Wilsenach said. "He has many years of experience at the top of the British Gambling Commission and commands wide respect from operators and regulators alike. He has been asked to review fully the actions taken by AGCC in respect of FTP and to focus specifically on the appropriateness, timeliness and fairness of those actions."
Look for a final report and recommendation by Dean to the AGCC by the end of March, 2012.
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