AN INTERNET poker company that was blocked from operating in the US last spring as part of an online gambling crackdown was “not a legitimate poker company, but a global Ponzi scheme”, federal prosecutors have claimed.

An online gambling site which employs around 600 people in a Dublin subsidiary has had its licence to operate suspended by authorities in the Channel Islands, prompting fears for the future of the jobs.

THE Irish-registered online poker site closed to US customers last week over investigations into money laundering and fraud, has been temporarily reopened to allow punters withdraw millions of dollars in tied-up funds.