(Jamaica Gleaner) A United States (US) court has ordered the civil forfeiture of more than US$6.9 million to an international money laundering scheme based in Antigua.
US officials are claiming that the money is the proceeds from an offshore Internet gambling operation that illegally targeted US residents.
The US Department of Justice said the civil forfeiture was resolved following the recent conviction of William Paul Scott for violations of the Wire Act and other money laundering statutes.
The case dates back to December 2003 when the US government filed a civil forfeiture action against Soulbury Limited, claiming that it was a shell company used by Scott to conceal the profits from his illegal operations.
US authorities claimed that between 1997 and 2002, Scott and an associate operated World Wide Tele-Sports, an Internet gambling site that lured US gamblers to bet on professional and collegiate sporting events in the US.