Neteller founder pledges to 'clear his name'

[The Actuary]

Neteller founder pledges to 'clear his name'
Financial Times

By Daniel Pimlott in New York

Updated: 4:10 a.m. ET Jan 20, 2007
Stephen Lawrence, one of the two founders of Neteller accused of laundering billions of dollars for internet gambling companies, pledged to "clear his name" when he appeared in court in New York Friday after receiving bail of $5m.

John Lefebvre, his co-founder and co-accused also on bail of $5m, is due to appear on Wednesday.


The men were arrested last Monday and charged by US attorneys in Manhattan with helping to transfer illegal gambling proceeds from US citizens to internet gaming companies.

Mr Lawrence, the internet money transfer company's former chief executive, was arrested in the Virgin Islands, but flew to New York, where the charges are filed, on Thursday night.

The conditions of his bail, to which he has already contributed $2.5m in cash and placed his $1.5m Manhattan apartment as security for, stipulate that he must not leave the five boroughs of New York until at least the end of February and has to hand in his passport.

At the court hearing, US prosecutor Tim Treanor pushed for tougher terms on the bail, saying Mr Lawrence was a great flight risk who might seek to leave the US at any time on his private jet. He claimed Mr Lawrence had deliberately hidden assets of at least $100m from filings related to the case.

Peter Neiman, Mr Lawrence's lawyer, denied he would seek to flee the country and "had every reason to be here to clear his name". But he admitted that Mr Lawrence had not disclosed some of his assets out of fear that the US government would seek to demand them in exchange for the money he is accused of laundering.

Mr Lawrence and Mr Lefebvre, both Canadian citizens, founded Neteller in 1999. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in jail. Neteller quit its US business following the arrests. The arrest of Mr Lefebvre and Mr Lawrence is the third time internet gambling executives from companies publicly listed in London have been detained in the US since the summer. US authorities consider online gambling to be illegal, although it is allowed in the UK.

David Carruthers, former chief executive of Betonsports, was arrested in July and is awaiting trial in St Louis on racketeering and fraud charges. In September, Peter Dicks, former chairman of Sportingbet, was arrested in New York, although he was later released.

The current attack on Neteller was notable on two counts, US online gambling observers said.

"The first surprise is that this is the first substantial criminal prosecution of a payments processor," said Sue Schneider, chief executive of the River City Group, which runs conferences for the online gambling industry, although both Paypal and Citibank have been subject to civil prosecutions.

"The second is that any internet gambling executive is coming to the US."

Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.

[drunkguy]

so much for that

[Minnow]

That was before he realized it was wrong.

[stevo]

Originally Posted by Minnow

That was before he realized it was wrong.

LMAO. Yup, he woke up one day in prison and it dawned on him.

Why did this guy come on US soil?

[Rogthedodger]

Yup, he woke up one day in prison and it dawned on him.

I spit my drink out when I read that one, Steve. Nice one

[stevo]

Originally Posted by Rogthedodger

Yup, he woke up one day in prison and it dawned on him.

I spit my drink out when I read that one, Steve. Nice one

Good night