Super bad to supergrass?

Could one of the biggest tech stories of the year have an Australian angle?

That is the suggestion after the dramatic events of the weekend, when three of the world’s largest online poker sites were forced to close their American operations after their founders were indicted on charges of fraud and money laundering.

On Friday night, 11 men – including the founders of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and Absolute Poker – were arrested and charged by US regulators for breaching the country’s strict anti online gambling laws.

They were also ordered to repay $3 billion of “illegal” gambling profits, which authorities say were funnelled through banks back into America.

“These defendants are alleged to have concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some US banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits,” US attorney Preet Bharara said.

“Moreover, as we allege, in their zeal to circumvent the gambling laws, the defendants also engaged in money laundering and bank fraud.”

Believe it or not, but online gambling in the US – the home to a nice little place called Las Vegas – is actually illegal.

But wily US punters bet through foreign websites, despite the fact it is technically illegal.

The poker sector raid has sent shockwaves through the gambling industry around the world. There are fears that the online poker sector – which was dominated by US celebrity ambassadors and US players – may be all but dead.

But more amazingly, there are now suggestions that this controversy has been sparked by one man – Australian IT entrepreneur, Daniel Tzvetkoff.

As you may remember, Tzvetkoff’s company BT Payments collapsed in 2009 with about $80 million in debts. The former high-flyer would later file for bankruptcy as his empire collapsed into ruins and an asset sell-off began.

But in April 2010, Tzvetkoff was arrested in Las Vegas on charges including bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, with authorities alleging he helped online gambling companies launder $US540 million in illegal gambling profits.

The arrest follows an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a legal stoush with US-based gaming company Kolyma Corporation, which owns a number of well-known gambling brands including Full Tilt Poker.

Kolyma sued Tzvetkoff’s companies for $52 million in online payments that it claims were received by Tzvetkoff’s company but not forwarded to Kolyma.

So angry were the online gaming companies that they reportedly tipped US authorities off when Tzvetkoff came to Las Vegas for a conference in early 2010.

However, the tip-off may have come back to bite the US poker giants, with reports suggesting Tzvetkoff – who was released on bail last August – may have turned against these companies and provided US authorities with valuable evidence.

There is no confirmation yet that Tzvetkoff has turned supergrass – the indictment of the 11 men over the weekend does not name Tzvetkoff at all – but there are reports that the former Brisbane business owner is holed up in the US in a safe house.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised at this turn of events. After all, the original indictment of Tzvetkoff suggested he was something of a mastermind of the alleged money laundering plot.

“Tzvetkoff and his co-conspirators created dozens of shell companies with names unrelated to gambling – complete with phony websites that made the companies seem legitimate – and represented to banks that the… transactions were on behalf of these companies,” a statement from the Department of Justice said on Tzvetkoff arrest.

“On May 3, 2008, one of Tzvetkoff’s co-conspirators in an email told Tzvetkoff that he had hired programmers to develop ‘unique’ websites for the shell companies so that if someone was ‘checking the companies out there is absolutely no way to tie the companies together.’ Tzvetkoff responded: ‘This is all perfect!’”

That suggests Tzvetkoff knows where all the secrets are buried in this mess – and where the receipts for the shovels are kept.

That would make him an extremely valuable witness – and a man facing a tense few years.