The formidable prosecutor вЂ“ best known for breaking the insider trading ring linked to New York hedge fund Galleon вЂ“ said Bitar had 'bluffed his player-customers and fixed the game against them as part of an international Ponzi scheme that left players empty-handed.'ДЄ fresh indictment was issued and Bitar returned to his native the US last July.

Preet Bharara, US attorney for the southern district of New York, said Full Tilt had become a 'Ponzi-style scheme', with a $350m (ВЈ228m) black hole. Detailed investigation led the US authorities to further allege that he and co-conspirators had secretly been plundering purportedly ring-fenced customer accounts, where poker players thought they had safely deposited cash and winnings. However, bank fraud and money laundering allegations turn out to be just the start of Bitar's woes. In four and a half years since the US enacted anti-online gambling laws, prosecutors alleged Full Tilt вЂ“ branded around star players Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer and Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, each of whom had a stake in the business вЂ“ had taken 'at least an estimated $1bn' from the US alone. Full Tilt was shut down and assets frozen. He was charged in April 2011 on five counts, and faced a maximum jail sentence of 65 years.

The gambling commisssion in Alderney knew that the US authorities regarded Full Tilt's activities in America as illegal when they granted a first license to the group in 2007 the regulator accepted that this position had not been proven in law and remained only an opinion.Д«harara claimed Full Tilt had 'allegedly lied about its finances' to the AGCC.Bitar, 41, one of the founding figures behind Full Tilt Poker, becomes the second of 11 senior poker executives and payment processor intermediaries charged two years ago with bank fraud, money laundering and online gambling offences. The Guernsey financial services authority must sign off all companies before they can be incorporated in Alderney. The alleged fraud at the heart of Full Tilt is a huge embarrassment for Guernsey, where the island's dominant financial services industry relies on a high regulatory reputation.

However, an investigation by the Guardian found there is almost no industry presence on Alderney, where power is provided a by a diesel generator and communications constrained by a single microwave transmitter.ДЄlmost all Alderney licensees operate from banks of servers in data centres located on the sister island of Guernsey. In 2007 even the then state-owned Tote began running its online operations through Alderney to avoid UK tax. Firms targeting players in countries such as the UK, where online gambling is legal but tax rates are 15%, are drawn to the island in large numbers.

The principal attraction of an Alderney licence to gambling groups is that there are no gambling or corporation taxes. The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) claims the island 'transmits more egambling traffic than any other location on the globe and is in fact much larger than the combined activity of its three European offshore rivals.

In 2009, the IMF said, some 3 million people were using Alderney online gambling firms, wagering $2.1bn. Full Tilt should never have gotten into a position where it could not repay player funds.' He has pleaded not guilty and has been granted bail after posting a $2.5m bond.ДЇull Tilt had been operating with a poker licence from the remotest Channel island, Alderney, where the majority of the 498 registered companies are gambling-related groups according to the International Monetary Fund. In a statement through his lawyers, Bitar responded: 'I know that a lot of people are very angry at me. On Monday Preet Bharara, US attorney for the southern district of New York, said the alleged fraud orchestrated by Bitar and co-conspirators had left Full Tilt unable to pay about $350m (ВЈ223m) to players around the world, believed to include thousands in the UK.Д«harara claimed Bitar had 'bluffed his player-customers and fixed the game against them as part of an international Ponzi scheme that left players empty-handed.' Soon afterwards they discovered what they alleged was a 'Ponzi-style scheme' at Full Tilt, where huge sums supposed to be in segregated players' accounts were missing. In April last year the US authorities struck against Full Tilt and two other large websites they said were offering poker illegally in the US.

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