Stanford International Bank assets frozen in UK
Alleged fraudster Allen Stanford, who is vigourously defending his good name against the US government, has today received news that over $100 million of assets held by his Stanford International Bank in UK have been frozen. The court order extends until 27 April although it can be further extended with the agreement of a court judge.
Stanford himself is under investigation regarding an alleged fraud in the US with the SEC suggesting he is at the centre of a $9.2 billion investment fund fraud which has allegedly been ongoing for some time. Stanford is the flamboyant millionaire who was heavily involved in the UK and worldwide cricket scene only to see his world come crashing down when the US authorities began digging into his business interests. Interestingly, advisers to Allen Stanford did not contest the freezing order which came into play today.
Rather bizarrely, the ongoing worldwide recession has seen a number of alleged frauds surfacing with investors looking to withdraw their funds from these particular investment plans. Allegations that many of the schemes were in fact pyramid schemes, whereby new investment is used to pay income to existing customers, are appearing on an almost daily basis. Indeed, we have already seen Bernard Madoff admit fraud in the US courts and he now awaits sentencing.
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