Goldwater Bank in Arizona has agreed to forfeit $733,804 to resolve a claim from U.S. officials that the money was involved in illegal online gambling.
The deal was made with the Justice Department and the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Goldwater received $2.5 million from Tarp.
Federal officials accused Goldwater of accepting deposits in connection with funds traceable to the online gaming site Pokerstars. The bank allegedly accepted more than $13.3 million from the company and other sites in the first five months of 2009.
Goldwater was paid by Allied Wallet Inc. for clearing services. Allied Wallet Inc. and Allied Systems Inc. and their owner Ahmad Khawaja agreed in August to forfeit $13.3 million to resolve claims that the funds were involved in money laundering.
Goldwater denied knowing the transactions were related to illegal online gambling, but agreed to give up the money as well as implement anti-money-laundering safeguards.
