Stanford arrested and charged with fraud

[malaise]

http://content-wi.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/391239.html
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Antigua-based billionaire Allen Stanford has been arrested and charged with fraud by US authorities. The Securities and Exchange Commission said that they were "alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude".

The ECB reacted to the news with a statement saying it and the West Indies board had "suspended negotiations with Stanford and his financial corporation concerning a new sponsorship deal".

Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's division of enforcement, said: "As we allege in our complaint, Stanford and the close circle of family and friends with whom he runs his businesses perpetrated a massive fraud based on false promises and fabricated historical return data to prey on investors. We are moving quickly and decisively in this enforcement action to stop this fraudulent conduct and preserve assets for investors."

A US district judge granted the SEC's request to impose a temporary restraining order on the Stanford operations and to freeze the defendants' assets, and appoint a receiver to marshal those assets.