Goldwater Bank Agrees to Forfeiture in PokerStars Matter

Arizona’s Goldwater Bank has agreed to forfeit $733,804 to U.S. authorities.  The bank is alleged to have processed the funds for online poker room PokerStars.com.  The deal was made with the Troubled Asset Relief Program since Goldwater Bank received some $2.5 million in TARP money. 

The bank came under intense scrutiny during an investigation into online poker payment processors, specifically those that worked in conjunction with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, the world’s two largest Internet card rooms. 

Goldwater was paid by Allied Wallet Inc. for clearing services.  Allied Wallet’s owner, Ahmad Khawaja, agreed to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement and forfeit $13.3 million over the summer.

Goldwater denied having knowledge about the online poker transactions. 

News of the forfeiture comes just one day after news broke that Australian online payment processing magnate, Daniel Tzvetkoff, had been released on bail by a New York judge.  

"Today's charges and settlement should send a powerful message to TARP recipients that they will be held strictly accountable for any misdeeds while they stand as custodians of taxpayer dollars," said TARP Special Inspector General Neil M. Barofsky.

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Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com