Bernard Tapie & FTP – Weekend Special [4]

 

It could be a story from a film and one day very could be, however the continuing saga of Full Tilt Poker (FTP) and the man who would be king & saviour of the Online Poker World, Bernard Tapie, who is currently in long running negotiations in saving the once great online poker site.

The outcome effects poker players the world over, many millions of dollars are held in deposits still on the FTP balance sheet for players hoping to one day receive a refund cheque from Group Bernanrd Tapie, the new owners of FTP.

In this special article we look at the man behind the company and see if firstly he is the saviour of many poker players funds, will he or his company be able to resurrect FTP and is Bernard Tapie the right person to lead the FTP2.

 

On Sunday The iGaming Post looks at the new private equity company making moves to purchase the FTP Software, we also look at Mr Berbard Tapie’s son, Laurent Tapie, who may lead the company. We also speak to two different gaming lawyers on the licensing of any new look FTP company and finally explain how much return poker players can hope or expect from any new look FTP2.

 

However let us start part one of this two part special with:

The man behind the company

Bernard Tapie was born in Paris on the 26th January 1943

His successes as a businessman specializes in the recovery of bankrupted companies, among which Adidas is the most famous, he actually owned Adidas from 1990 to 1993 and was the owner of several sports teams, most notably his cycling team won the Tour de France twice and his football club won the french championship 5 times in a row, and the Champions League in 1993.

 

Happy Times

Mr Tapie was president of the Olympique Marseille football club From 1986 to 1994, which became Champion of France and won the Champions League. In May 1992.

Sadly during his time with Olympique Marseille he was forced to resign, because in the same year that Olympique Marseille won the Champions League, he was accused of fixing the match between his club and a minor club called Valenciennes; the reason for fixing the match was that he could save his best players for important matches and not waste their energy.

His club was punished for this and was stripped of the French league championship, though not of the Champions League title, and later suffered a forced relegation to the French second division because of financial irregularities widely blamed on Tapie.

In 1994, Tapie was put under criminal investigation for complicity of corruption and subornation of witnesses. After a high profile court case he was sentenced in 1995 by the Court of Appeals to 2 years in prison, he was incarcerated for about 6 months in 1997 and had to sell many of his assets including his beloved boats.

Since his bankruptcy in the mid 1990s, the flamboyant Mr Tapie has been forced to surrender 80% of his income to pay off his companies’ debts.

 

On 30 September 2008, a French court ended a long legal battle between Tapie and the Crédit Lyonnais bank. Crédit Lyonnais had allegedly defrauded Tapie in 1993 and 1994 when it sold Adidas on his behalf to Robert Louis-Dreyfus, apparently by arranging a larger sale with Dreyfus without Tapie’s knowledge. The court awarded 405 million euros to Tapie.

After serving a seven-month term in jail in 1997, Mr Tapie launched himself into the media spotlight as a chat show host.

In the French 2007 presidential elections, Tapie supported the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and later became President,  according to local newspaper reports at the time, his support was won by Sarkozy because of tax issues which he promised to resolve following his election.

Mr Tapie has had a roller coaster ride so far in his career, the question is; Could FTP cope with Mr Tapie’s flamboyant business dealings?

To put into context the suspect background of the man, here quoted by CDEEDIE a list of Mr Tapie’s not so great moments:

Conviction for corruption Valanciennes-Anzin vs Marseille during the French championship (Marseille relegated to the 2nd division)

Judicial conviction for Insult in 1992

Testut and Phocea Affair, sentenced in 1997 to 18mths in prison for Tax fraud

January 2006, Jean-jacques Eydelie accuses Bernard Tapie of corruption

Sentenced in 2009 by the criminal chamber of the Paris Tribunal for Defamation

Sentenced in 1998 for three years for Bankruptcy, forgery and unlawful possession of counterfeit, abuse of trust and social goods

Lost his Hotel for not paying his Taxes and found in possession of 3 fake painting

Sentenced in 1994 for 4 months for trowing a TV camera in the sea

On September 30, 2011 it was announced that Tapie had agreed to buy Full Tilt Poker and its assets despite its legal troubles in the United States and the rest of the World. Only time will tell if Groupe Bernard Tapie will be the one to save the company.

 

READ on Sunday the second part of this amazing story, from lawyers about licensing, Laurent Tapie and who else may be involved.