20/20 king up for Alleged US fraud

[gzagee]

ECB suspend Sir Allen Stanford negotiations after 'fraud' charge

The England & Wales Cricket Board yesterday suspended relations with Sir Allen Stanford after he was charged with what United States investigators allege is a "massive, ongoing fraud."

A Dallas Federal court was asked to freeze Stanford's assets and his company was put in the hand of receivers after the Securities and Exchange Commission took drastic action following days of intense speculation about his company.

"We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world," said Rose Romero, director of the SEC's Fort Worth office.

Last week Telegraph Sport revealed that Stanford was locked ion discussions with the ECB over a new sponsorship deal to fund quadrangular tournaments at Lord's for the next three years.

Those talks continued as three federal agencies in the United States, as well as the FBI, conducted investigations into Stanford's bank, which is located in Antigua.

On Tuesday those negotiations were at an end. "Following allegations made today (Tuesday) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and their decision to apply for a temporary restraining order which was filed in a Dallas/Fort Worth court, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board have suspended negotiations with Sir Allen Stanford and his financial corporation concerning a new sponsorship deal," said an ECB statement.

Giles Clarke, the recently re-elected chairman of the ECB, was told of the news of Stanford's charge while watching England's second Test against the West Indies on Stanford's home island of Antigua.

He will now face serious questions over the ECB's five year deal with Stanford which was announced last June in spectacular style when the Texan landed his black helicopter at Lord's before he was photographed alongside Clarke behind a box full of dollar bills.

"The ECB have walked into the open arms of a man who has been accused of a massive fraud and who through his actions during the Stanford Super Series brought the game of cricket into disrepute," said Lord Marland, Clarke's opponent during the recent election.

"The ECB have failed in their due diligence and were negotiating with him up to the 11th hour to strike a new deal and at any other organisation those responsible for this would resign. The pictures of Giles Clarke and Stanford posing behind that chest of money will haunt English cricket forever."

The SEC have been investigating Stanford for months and at the weekend it emerged the FBI were also examining the business practises of the Stanford International Bank.

The authorities in the United States have been heavily criticised for failing to clamp down on the actions of Bernie Madoff, the New York broker recently accused of a $50 billion pyramid selling fraud.

Rise and fall

Feb 25: Stanford reveals his plan for a $20 million Twenty20 match which he calls the “OK Corral” of cricket.
June 11: Stanford signs a five-year $100m deal with the ECB. He lands his helicopter at Lord’s before having his photograph taken with a chest of dollar bills.
Oct 27: The Stanford Super Series gets off to a bad start when he sits the pregnant wife of England wicketkeeper Matt Prior on his knee. Stanford issues apology to the team.
Oct 28: A party for England and the Superstars is cancelled as Stanford avoids a public meeting with Kevin Pietersen’s team.
Oct 29: ECB announce a review of the Stanford deal, three days before the $20m match takes place.
Nov 1: England are thrashed by 10 wickets as the Stanford Superstars team, led by Chris Gayle, become dollar millionaires.
Dec 17: Stanford sacks his board of legends, which included Sir Viv Richards and Sir Garfield Sobers, and closes his office in Antigua. His deal with the ECB looks dead.
Feb 11: Announces the end of his $20m match after one year but confirms the Stanford Quadrangular will take place at Lord’s in May.
Feb 17: Securites and Exchange Commission charge Sir Allen Stanford and three associates with alleged fraud 'of shocking magnitude'.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricke ... harge.html

[damo1583]

there was always something very odd about this guy............ he has shown his true colours ever since the Stanford 2020........

[gzagee]

The US authorities were scrambling yesterday to find $50 billion of assets connected to Allen Stanford, the Texan cricket impresario, as the fallout from his alleged fraud rippled across the world.

Mr Stanford boasted of having customers in 140 countries. Panicked investors in the Caribbean and Latin America rushed to withdraw their savings from banks linked to his financial empire. Many left empty-handed.

Callers to the numerous Stanford offices across the US were greeted with a recorded message: “This office is temporarily closed. Have a great day.” The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Wall Street regulator, has sought the help of the Financial Services Authority to help to track down money in the UK.

The flamboyant billionaire was nowhere to be seen. The SEC said that it had no idea where he was. At his luxury home on the outskirts of the Antiguan capital the shutters were down. A guard said that Mr Stanford was not at home. Locals said that he owned a yacht and an aircraft, though he would be expected to contact the immigration authorities before leaving.

Mr Stanford, who was charged by the SEC on Tuesday with defrauding investors of $9.2 billion, is understood to be under investigation by the FBI.

The scale of his influence was becoming clear. He donated funds to President Obama’s election campaign and sponsored the annual charity polo day at Sandhurst, hosted by the Prince of Wales. Michael Owen, the Newcastle United and England striker, is a global ambassador for the Stanford Financial Group. Tennis, golf and basketball tournaments and teams have benefited from his millions, not to mention cricket in England and the Caribbean.

The scam is the second major fraud to hit America in three months after Bernard Madoff confessed that his $50 billion investment firm was “just one big lie”. It is a devastating blow to the Obama Administration, which is trying to persuade investors to trust their savings to American institutions.

The FBI is convinced that the two huge frauds are just the tip of the iceberg. John Pistole, the Deputy Director of the FBI, told politicians on Capitol Hill last week that the agency was investigating 530 corporate fraud cases, including 38 directly related to the current economic crisis.

The SEC believes that Mr Stanford duped investors, who bought bonds from Stanford International Bank in Antigua and lied about the performance of their savings. The regulator also accuses Mr Stanford of lying to investors about their exposure to Mr Madoff. He lost about $400,000 to the New York financier’s Ponzi scheme.

A judge in Dallas has frozen Mr Stanford’s business activities and his personal fortune. Investigators are now trying to track down the $50 billion worth of assets that he boasted his empire owned.

Mr Stanford became known across the world after sponsoring the Twenty20 cricket match in the West Indies last year, with a prize pot of $1 million per winning player.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 762670.ece

[Cheese]

I like how they keep saying he's gone under ground.

I just have this image he is sharing a cave with Bin Laden.