Neteller Investigation Resolved; U.S. Funds to be Returned

Finally, after months of waiting, U.S. Neteller customers will get their funds that were seized and frozen by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Neteller said that it had intended to announce its plan for the redistribution of funds this past Friday, but the investigation into the company by the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) had not come to a resolution.  But now it has and Neteller is just about ready to get funds back to customers. 

The resolution of the case is represented by a Deferred Prosecution agreement (DPA) with the USAO.  According to the terms of the DPA, Neteller has consented to the filing of a criminal information, which is essentially a criminal charge, stating that the company facilitated payments between online gambling sites and U.S. customers.  The USAO, for its part, will defer prosecution and will not convict Neteller of a crime, as long as Neteller meets certain conditions for two years.   

The first condition is for Neteller to admit to facilitating unlawful gambling transactions.  The other main condition is that the company must also pay a fine of $136 million to the U.S.  The $60 million that had already been seized is included in this amount.  $40 million of the remainder will be paid by October 15 and the rest must be paid by January 17, 2008. 

Most importantly to American customers, Neteller is ready to release funds that have been in limbo for the last few months.  The company says that customers will be able to login to their accounts and request payment no later than July 30.  The exact date and process will be relayed in a later communication via e-mail and through the Neteller website.