Gaming company CEO cleared of stealing former employer's client database

A gaming company CEO has been cleared of computer misuse and stealing data from his former employer to use in his own company.

In 2017, Fredrik Gereon Ljungcrantz had been charged with unauthorized copying and making use of data, which was property of his employer, Evoke Gaming Ltd. He was also accused of promoting, selling or abetting remote gaming from Malta without the requisite licence.

Inspector Sean Scicluna had told magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech how Evoke Gaming Limited filed a complaint alleging that their clients’ database was compromised and was being used by Staybet.com, Stay Gaming Group registered in Curacao or Stay Gaming Group Ltd. registered in the UK. Police had conducted searches at addresses related to Staybet.

Ljungcrantz was then arrested after the police acted on information that he had resigned from Evoke to set up his own company coupled to the fact it was known that he was a director of the Stay Gaming Group Ltd in the UK.

The Inspector had explained how Evoke’s net gaming revenues had decreased substantially upon Ljungcrantz’s departure from Evoke. Moreover, “heavy marketing” for Staybet.com was being registered on Evoke’s internal addresses, which were part of the players’ data base or their clients’ data base.

Searches were carried out at the residence and addresses known to be frequented by Ljungcrantz or used by Staybet.com. Ljungcrantz was found at the Ta’ Xbiex address where Staybet’s operations were allegedly carried out. Ljungcrantz had cooperated fully with the police investigation, the prosecution revealed.

The police were told that the company’s servers were located in Israel, and were provided access to the servers remotely. Information deemed pertinent to the investigation was then downloaded by the court-appointed expert. A search in Ljungcrantz’s residence, which he shared with three others, yielded business cards bearing his name and electronic equipment. The business cards described Fredrik Ljungcrantz as Staybet’s CEO.

In his statement Ljungcrantz stated that he is the CEO of Stay Gaming Group N.V, owned by Siamak Derakhti, an online gaming company licenced in Curacao which has a company by the same name in the UK. He said that he used to work for Evoke Gaming Ltd where for three years he was the only one working as call centre manager.

Ljungcrantz had left Evoke Gaming Ltd to start Staybet, he explained.

He denied sending Staybet spam mails to internal emails used for testing purposes which are not in the public domain and which are exclusive to Evoke stating that “any other employee with Evoke could have had access to their clients’ database”. The court, presided by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, observed that this statement had been confirmed by Evoke Gaming officials.

Ljungcrantz also denied diverting Evoke’s net gaming revenue to Staybet through a marketing strategy, stating he left Evoke in April, 2016 and the emails submitted as proof of his wrongdoing had been sent in June, 2016 - by which time Staybet had 3,040 affiliates sending out promotional emails.

Starting in July 2017 a very sharp decline of sales deposit revenues and net gaming revenues was noticed and continued until November. Deposit values plummeted overnight in July.

The court however flagged numerous shortcomings in the presentation of the evidence, including the fact that the court-appointed expert had been given data seized from the accused and his office which was not confirmed on oath.

The absence of sworn testimony on the data meant that the court was prevented from attributing any probative value to them, it said.

The court also ruled that the prosecution had also failed to prove that Staybet.com, which is not an entity which can be granted a gaming licence, or Stay Gaming Group NV of which Ljungcrantz was CEO, were operating, promoting, selling or abetting remote gaming in or from Malta without being in possession of a valid licence.

In the light of all this, the court said it “cannot but acquit” Ljungcrantz.

Inspector Rennie Stivala prosecuted. Lawyer Giannella De Marco was defence counsel to Ljungrantz.