iGaming company CEO cleared of stealing former employer’s client database
The accused had been charged with unauthorised copying and making use of former employer’s data, to use in his own company
Gaming company CEO, Fredrik Gereon Ljungcrantz, has been cleared of unlawfully accessing and downloading data from his former employer’s database.
Fredrik Gereon Ljungcrantz was charged with computer misuse and unauthorised stealing of data. Lawyer Giannella DeMarco was defence counsel for Ljungcrantz this case. The accused was an employee with Evoke Gaming Ltd back in 2016 and left the company three years later to join Staybet.com, a company owned by his best friend. Ljungcrantz and his friend set up their new venture, Magic Holdings Ltd. In the process of setting up his own business,
The accusation came about when Evoke recorded a decline in their sales deposit revenue. In 2015 a drop of 12.9 million euros was recorded and another 9.9 million the following year. Ljungcrantz denied diverting Evoke’s net gaming revenue to Staybet through a marketing strategy.
Fredrik Gereon Ljungcrantz was charged with unauthorised copying of data, which was property of his former employer. The accused also allegedly promoted, sold or abetted remote gaming from Malta without the requisite licence.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, who was in charge of the case was informed by inspector Sean Scicluna that their clients’ database was being used by Staybet.com. The police carried out their arrest on Ljungcrantz when they were informed that the accused had resigned from Evoke to set up his own company. The accused was found at Ta’ Xbiex address where Staybet’s operations were allegedly carried out.
Although Ljungcrantz cooperated with the investigators, he claimed that “any other employee could have access to their clients’ database” not just him. Investigators seized a USB stick, containing a list of customers, from the accused’s residence.
When faced with this claim, Evoke officials stated: “This is precisely why the court encounters difficulty in understanding how no efforts were made to establish, through an examination of the IT system in operation, who were the people who could have not merely accessed the data, but downloaded it.”
The court ruled that the prosecution had 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. Therefore the court “cannot but acquit” Ljungcrantz.
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