I couldn't find how Dikshit got arrested. Did he fly to the US and got arrested at the airport or something? When was this?
Apparently he has been negotiating this settlement for some time with the DoJ, and once the horsetrading was through he flew to New York to briefly appear and plead.
He had already paid $100 million in by that stage. The balance is due $100 million within the next three months, and the final payment by September 2009.
Sentence was deferred for two years (unless Dikshit reneges on the deal) to make sure he pays up I guess. The penalty could be 2 years in jail, but it is unlikely this will be imposed once he has paid up.
In the meantime he has posted a bail bond of $15 million and there are some travel restrictions limiting him to his native India, the European Union, and New York. He has also agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice in further online gambling investigations.
He is actually based in Gibraltar - a good tax decision btw.
An interesting footnote here is the fact that news that Party Gaming was in the final stages of its own seperate negotiations with the DoJ drove the share price up, immediately valuing Dikshit's remaining shares at approximately the cost of his settlement!
Those shares could go dramatically higher if the company does a deal with the DoJ which frees it (and potential investors or buyers) from fear of US prosecution. And Party Gaming has already said its settlement number will be "significantly" lower than that agreed to by Dikshit in his independent personal agreement.
There's already speculation that Party Gaming group would make a juicy acquisition for any big US gaming company looking for an established Internet business should the Americans decide to legalise online gambling in the long run.
So for Dikshit, there are some promising prospects (he still owns 28 percent of the company) ahead even if he has had to shell out $300 million now.
