NETeller’s Problems Just Won’t Go Away

When the US Government passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, many of the payment processing companies that were located in the states were quick to vacate the premises. Some moved offshore, some just stopped taking money.

However, some chose to stay and battle it out. NETeller fell somewhere in the middle of that. The company initially stayed, but then left when the Department of Justice arrested its founding fathers, Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre. Even though both men had already left the company by this point, the fact that they are essentially innocent as they were operating when it was still legal does not seem to matter to the government. Needless to say, both men pled guilty to try and get it over with, yet it is still hanging on.

Both men are facing up to five years in prison as well as fines and will be sentenced later this year.

Meanwhile, NETeller had asked that their trading be suspended on the Alternative Investment Market while the hoopla surrounding them was going on. However, they have been suspended since January 16th at this point, so they are facing cancellation of their listing this week unless they resume trading.

The company can’t really unfreeze while they are still fighting so many issues, and the Department of Justice has frozen all of their accounts, and hence those of their customers while it is getting sorted out. NETeller was planning on returning those funds and had set a deadline, but that has come and gone.

The company is hoping that the US Attorney’s Office will give them some sort of settlement so that they can go back to trading on AIM, but many say that it is unlikely that it will happen. Less than a year ago NETeller was on top of the world, and now it looks as if it might be curtains for the processing giant.

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