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2007-01-17 14:12:28
By: Gene Bromberg

In case you hadn't heard, on Monday two founders and former executives at Neteller were detained as they entered the United States. Yesterday the New York U.S. Attorney's office and the FBI announced that Stephen Eric Lawrence and John David Lefebvre were charged with being part of a money laundering conspiracy.

Neteller is the most popular payment company with online poker players, so this is seriously bad news. Reading Amy Calistri's articles about the arrest it's looks as though Lawrence and Lefebvre are being charged under the Wire Act of 1963, and not the recently-passed Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Lawrence and Lefebvre also left the company before the UIGEA was passed--their only connection to Neteller at the moment is that they're shareholders. Nor is Neteller a sports book or online casino--they only process payments. Which means the U.S. government is broadening their scope of what they think constitutes a violation of the Wire Act (and, possibly, the UIGEA).

So far no charges have been filed directly against Neteller, though the United States Attorney, Michael J. Garcia, ominously said the investigation is still ongoing. Also, so far Neteller is still open for business. It's a fluid situation, and one we'll be keeping a close eye on.


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