A former gang leader wants to close the Grand Royal Casino in Wôlinak, near Bécancour. The gaming house, built in 2021 for 11 million on the Abenaki reserve, is operated by a company of Ofer “Josh” Baazov, the brother of David Baazov, former CEO of online gaming giant Amaya.
Former chef Denis Landry is asking the Superior Court to cancel the casino management contract, granted for 20 years to the company of Ofer Baazov (who also calls himself Josh), Tribal Gaming Holdings Canada.
According to him, the contract was granted without legitimate band council approval in March 2020, when the terms of the majority of its members had expired.
His lawsuit, filed in Montreal, targets current chief Michel Bernard, band general manager Dave Bernard – suspended since November 2022 – Tribal Gaming and the Attorney General of Canada.
Denis Landry also denounces the nature of the agreement signed with Baazov’s company, a contract described as “injurious, exorbitant and abusive” at the expense of the Wôlinak band and “unbalanced in favor of Tribal Gaming”.
Ofer Baazov opened the Grand Royal Casino in March 2022.
Controversial boss
The businessman’s choice as a partner raised questions when The Journal of Montreal revealed the casino project in 2021. Ofer Baazov was with his brother David one of the protagonists of the Amaya affair. These investigations into stock market manipulation mobilized from 2014 to 2019 the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the Ontario Securities Commission, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as the American and British stock market authorities.
PHOTO FROM LINKEDIN
Ofer Baazov aka Josh Baazov
The Autorité suspected Ofer Baazov of having disclosed inside information to several investors about Amaya, the online gambling company run by his brother David. The company was then preparing the acquisition of a competitor, which was finally carried out for 4.9 billion dollars in 2014.
In 2016, the AMF found a secret nominee agreement with David in Ofer Baazov’s phone. According to the financial markets watchdog’s statement at the time, the contract stated that Ofer Baazov and their partner Craig Levett actually owned 75% of the shares of Amaya that CEO David Baazov said he owned, then 50% to from 2008.
However, these allegations have not been proven in court. No charges were ultimately brought against Ofer Baazov. His brother David and two others were charged with tipping, conspiracy and securities manipulation, but no one was convicted. At the end of the trial, the judge criticized the AMF for “routine errors”, “laxity” and an “obvious lack of rigor”.
Ofer Baazov is, however, named in class actions in Canada and the United States, brought against Amaya by investors, which have obtained millions in damages.
In 1996, the US Federal Trade Commission nabbed Ofer Baazov and his Montreal businesses in an investigation called “Project Jackpot,” targeting corporations and individuals engaging in fraudulent telemarketing. In 1997, a federal judge ordered them to pay US$776,977 into a fund to reimburse victims.
In 1993, after a Montreal police investigation, Ofer Baazov was found guilty of four counts of cocaine possession and sentenced to 90 days in prison, the daily reported. Globe and Mail in 2015.
Casino “contrary to public order”
In the civil lawsuit filed on Friday, ex-chief Denis Landry claims that Wôlinak was without a legitimate band council when the contract with Baazov’s company was signed in March 2020. At the time, the majority of elected councilors band of Wôlinak had completed their mandate 15 months ago.
“The band council did not hold elections as it was required to do in December 2018,” says Landry’s petition. According to the former chief, “for 33 months, there was no band council that could legitimately act on behalf of the band”. The contract dating from 2020 is therefore invalid, says his request.
The Band Council, amended since the most recent election in June 2022, suspended General Manager Dave Bernard in November 2022 over a non-casino pay issue.
PHOTO STÉPHANE LESSARD, LE NOUVELLISTE ARCHIVES
The chef of Wôlinak, Michel Bernard
Denis Landry’s lawyer, Paul-Yvan Martin, affirms that all the contracts related to the casino are “contrary to public order, since their object is the operation of a gaming house on the reserve, in contravention of section 201 of the Criminal Code”.
The lawsuit adds that no regulations have been adopted “to authorize such an operation and to guarantee winnings and fairness in the games”.
Ex-Chief Landry affirms that the Abenakis of Wôlinak went into debt of 11 million with Tribal Gaming for the construction of the casino and that the distribution of any profits depends “on the entire discretion of Ofer Baazov”.
“Disturbed from the jar”
Reached by telephone, chef Michel Bernard considers this prosecution to be “unspeakably stupid”. “These are disturbed from the jar, he thunders. They will never be able to shut down that casino. He points out that he is a “multiple millionaire”. “I am able to defend myself. »
He assures that the contract with Tribal Gaming was not signed in 2020, but in 2017, by duly elected advisers.
“It is totally false, retorts M.e Paul-Yvan Martin. There is no contract that precedes the 2020 one.”
The Press could not reach Ofer Baazov.
This procedure is part of a long-standing conflict between the Landry and Bernard clans, who have been vying for power in Wôlinak for years.