Indian Gambling Tycoon to Forfeit $300m

by Sanjay Jha | December 16, 2008 at 11:34 pm

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Anurag Dikshit, an Indian shot into fame as one of the youngest richest Indian with asstets more than billionaire after his company PartyGaming was listed at bourses in 2005 and made the £420m and another £65.7m after he sold shares next year. Billionaire Mr. Dikshit, who is still the largest shareholder in online gambling company, has pleaded guilty to a charge relating to illegal web betting in the US.

He is expected to appear in the Southern District Court of New York later today, according to the Financial Times, after agreeing to pay US authorities $300m and co-operate with US Department of Justice. If found guilty, he risks a prison sentence of two years.

PartyGaming which is not even in FTSE 100 has been in separate talks with the DoJ for months, as have rivals including 888 and Sportingbet.

Anurag Dikshit, co-founder of the UK-listed company PartyGaming, entered the plea in a New York federal court.

He is charged with violating federal gambling laws, an offence which could incur a prison term of up to two years.

Mr Dikshit, an Indian national with an estimated fortune of $1.6bn, declined to comment to reporters.

The US justice department said Mr Dikshit, 37, had pleaded guilty to one count of "using the wires to transmit bets and wagering information".

US gambling law reforms in 2006 effectively made it illegal for PartyGaming to trade there.

Correspondents say Mr Dikshit, who still holds a major stake in the company, is unlikely to serve any jail time because of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Mr Dikshit, who was released on a $15m bail pending sentencing next December, has already paid $100m.