BY TOM SOMACH

NETeller, the Internet money-transfer service that earlier this year seized $55 million of its U.S. customers’ funds, has announced for the first time definitive plans to return the money.

In a press release just posted on NETeller’s corporate website, the company said it had worked out an agreement with the U.S. government–which ordered the funds seized as part of a criminal investigation–to return the money.

Details on how and when the customers’ funds will be returned are to be announced within 75 days, the company said.

The press release states, in part: “NETeller…announced that it has signed agreements with each of the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of New York and (forensic accountants) Navigant Consulting, Inc. (to) outline terms and a timeline under which NETeller will work toward the orderly distribution of funds to its U.S. customers.

“Per the agreements, (NETeller) anticipates that within the next 75 days, it will announce a plan by which the funds will be distributed to U.S. customers.

“Navigant will also provide a report to the USAO on (NETeller’s) current financial condition. We continue to be committed to returning funds to our U.S. customers and working with the USAO.”

Not much other information about the situation was revealed by NETeller, which until now has continuously stonewalled any attempts by customers and media to get information about the seized funds.

The overwhelming amount of NETeller’s business–about 80%–had been transactions between U.S. citizens and online gambling sites, such as online poker rooms, online bingo parlors, online casinos and online sportsbooks.

But after NETeller’s two Canadian founders were arrested on money laundering and gambling charges by the U.S. Feds in January, U.K.-based NETeller shut off the U.S. market from online gambling transactions.

Most U.S. customers, since they could no longer use NETeller to send funds to and from online gambling sites, then attempted to empty their NETeller accounts.

Instead of giving everyone their money, though, NETeller froze U.S. customers’ accounts and seized the funds.

As the company put up its wall of stone over inquiries into the matter, though, bits of information began to leak out.

Weeks later, after newspaper USA Today reported that the Feds had ordered the NETeller accounts of U.S. citizens frozen and seized, as part of their investigation surrounding the NETeller founders’ arrests, NETeller finally conceded what was going on, but still would give no timetable of when $55 million in frozen funds would be returned.

News of the impending return of the frozen funds has to be good news for the thousands of American online gamblers who have been sweating the return of amounts ranging from hundreds of dollars to many thousands of dollars.

One poker player, who won a Poker Stars tournament, had $800,000 put into his NETeller account for the win.

Shortly after that, NETeller froze his account, and he hasn’t yet been able to get out the money since.

(E-mail Tom Somach a tomsomach@yahoo.com.)