This past Friday in Costa Rica, authorities with the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) executed sudden raids on a pair of online-gambling related targets.
First in the crosshairs were the offices of PokerStars. Initial reports of the raid were confirmed by company spokesman PokerStars Steve on the TwoPlusTwo forums:
“PokerStars continues to operate the world’s largest poker room, business as usual. It is true that the OIJ is currently at the PokerStars Costa Rican office and has sent employees home temporarily, but employees will be able to return in a few hours. PokerStars expects the office to return to business as usual in short order as this action was most likely taken as a response to problems experienced by other local companies in the same industry.”
This particular disturbance lasted only twenty minutes or so, after which time the company’s employees were allowed to return to work.
Also targeted were the offices of Innovative Data Solutions, a former customer service center for both UB and Absolute Poker. Following the OIJ’s intrusion, the company released the following statement:
“We want to correct the rumors being reported in poker circles and the wider community that yesterday’s events are related to the recent Department of Justice indictments. Our understanding is that this is not the case, and that they were driven by local investigations of a separate matter in Costa Rica that involves a concerted effort to locate and apprehend [Olman] Rimola, [Scott] Tom and [Oldemar] Vargas for questioning in relation to a money laundering investigation.”
So, there you have it. The fallout from Black Friday continues, as justice officials seek out the indicted individuals.