The US Government has requested that a UK court has freezes more than £67 million worth of assets belonging to Stanford International Bank (SIB), the group controlled by alleged fraudster Allen Stanford.
At the High Court this week a judge granted an order to freeze Mr Stanford’s assets as requested by the SEC, which is accusing Mr Stanford of running a $9.2 billion investment fraud.
The assets are held in five accounts at the private banking arm of Credit Suisse in London. The $105 million is held in cash, US and Swiss shares as well as investments in unnamed hedge funds, according to court papers.
Mr Stanford did not contest the freezing order which can be extended in due course.
Mr Stanford, a flamboyant cricket fan who spent millions of dollars sponsoring the sport, is accused of running a Ponzi scheme, where he paid existing investors’ returns with money from new clients.
Forensic accountants will play a key role in the investigation to unravel the full extent of the alleged fraud.