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The Australian newspaper Courier-Mail this week reports new developments in the financially troubled Intabill payment processor debacle including the news that the man behind Intabill, the 25-year-old entrepreneur Daniel Tzvetkoff and his partner Sam Sciacca (38) are being sued for A$52 million by the Aruba registered online gambling company Kolyma Corporation AVV - owner of the world's second largest online poker operation Full Tilt Poker.
The Courier-Mail reports that the massive lawsuit is the latest in a series of blows in recent months for the young entrepreneur and his troubled company, an online billing, payments and fraud-detection system which helped him and partner Sciacca rapidly build a business empire at one time worth an estimated A$120 million.
Kolyma Corporation AVV is suing Intabill Incorporated for Full Tilt and other payments which Kolyma says were not passed on.
Kolyma was one of the biggest clients of Intabill, which is based in Brisbane, Australia, and it is seeking payment of an alleged debt of $US43 million ($A52.75 million) plus interest, which it claims has been increasing at $US13 532 a day (about A$16,590) since May 25.
The action, lodged in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on May 25, names as defendants Intabill, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven, and the Australian-registered holding company BT Projects. It also targets Tzvetkoff and Sciacca individually, saying they gave a guarantee to pay Kolyma money claimed to be owed.
Tzvetkoff told Australian weekend media that the action would be defended but that he could not comment further.
Intabill had more than 5000 customers in 70 countries, the Courier-Mail reports. It is understood that about half its revenue came from businesses linked to online gambling operations, with fees from just one operator topping more than A$150 000 per day.
In April this year, Intabill laid off 96 employees - keeping about 20. Tzvetkoff blamed market conditions and increased loan funding costs at the time (see previous InfoPowa reports).
In May, Intabill withdrew a multimillion-dollar sponsorship of the Team IntaRacing V8 Supercar team, announced only months earlier.
Commenting on he current status of the company to the Courier-Mail, Tzvetkoff said: "We are continuing to work to rebuild during these tough times."
Tzvetkoff was raised in Brisbane's southern suburbs by a school teacher mother and a father who runs weekend markets. Benefiting from the boom times of his business, he drove a black Lamborghini Gallardo with the number plate BALLER and owned a Ferrari 599, an Audi S6, Range Rover and a Ford GT40. He had a luxurious boat, used chartered private jets and also was part-owner of the Zuri Lounge celebrity nightclub in Brisbane.
It is understood the boat and most of the cars have been sold.
A year ago, Tzvetkoff emerged as the mystery buyer of the $27 million half-built mansion on "millionaire's row" at Mermaid Beach, which was formerly owned by tourism tycoon Tony Smith.
The property, spread over four waterfront lots, was to be a family home for Tzvetkoff, his fiancee Nicole Crisp and their son Hugo, now aged two, however the property is still unfinished and they have not moved in yet.
Tzvetkoff's partner Salvatore "Sam" Sciacca is a lawyer with a background in commercial and corporate work, including e-commerce. He is a cousin of former federal minister for veterans' affairs Con Sciacca, and has kept a much lower profile than Mr Tzvetkoff.
