Pirate Bay's potential buyer has assets seized
Published: 28 Sep 2009 08:36 BST
A Swedish court has seized control of all assets belonging to Hans Pandeya, the chief executive of Global Gaming Factory X and the man who wants to acquire The Pirate Bay.
On Wednesday, the court found that there is enough evidence to show that Pandeya owes Johan Sellstrom, a former business partner in Global Gaming, the equivalent of about $400,000, which includes interest.
The district court in Sweden ruled that the state would take control of Pandeya's assets until enough of them can be sold to pay back Sellstrom. The court said that Pandeya can appeal the decision but his assets will remain in the hands of the court until the appeal is heard.
"I was pleased to find that the court has ruled that my promissory note is indeed genuine," Sellstrom said in an email to ZDNet UK's sister site, CNET News.com. "More importantly, they agreed that a lien against Pandeya's net assets had to be put into effect immediately in order to prevent evasive measures on his part. "I look forward to a hasty process in order to minimise the damage that Hans Pandeya has caused the shareholders of GGF and wish them all the luck with the acquisition."
In response, Pandeya called Sellstrom's claims "bogus". He told the court that taking away his assets could harm the Pirate Bay acquisition because it will make it harder for him to raise capital.
In the past, Pandeya has said that he would use his own assets to secure any loans he received to help him acquire The Pirate Bay. That might be tough to do if his assets are in the hands of the government. He acknowledged this when asking the court, via a letter, not to put a lien on his assets.
"The application appears to be a measure to ensure payment of a claim but the approval of a lien will seriously damage [Global Gaming] and its shareholders," Pandeya wrote. "Pandeya's real-estate assets and shares are being used to guarantee the acquisition. If Sellstrom is awarded a lien the acquisition will become more difficult and the value of Pandeya's assets decreased."
Pandeya also claimed that he already paid Sellstrom, when he gave him a share of a property deal that eventually went bad. Sellstrom denied this and apparently the court believed Sellstrom.
Pandeya still believes an acquisition will take place. He has already missed one deadline, but said on Friday that the acquisition will now be completed on 30 September.
Global Gaming has been kicked off a Swedish stock exchange for providing investors with false information. Meanwhile, Pandeya's car, boat and motorcycle have been seized by debt collectors.
Credit: Would-be Pirate Bay buyer loses control of assets from CNET News
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