Sir Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire accused by US regulators of perpetrating an $8bn fraud, was yesterday arrested in Richmond, Virginia by federal law enforcement officials.The Justice Department is expected to announce criminal charges on Friday that were returned by a federal grand jury in Houston, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. Sir Allen is due in court on Friday in Virginia to respond to the indictment and is expected to be later transferred to Houston.
The developments come as US authorities prepare to widen the scope of the allegations against Sir Allen, who already faces civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In February, the SEC accused Sir Allen and his deputies Laura Pendergest-Holt and James Davis of defrauding investors through a Ponzi scheme â?? in which investors are repaid from funds acquired from subsequent investors â?? involving so-called certificates of deposit issued by his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank (SIB). All three have denied the SECâ??s allegations against them.
Ms Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer of the Stanford Financial Group â?? of which SIB is a part â?? was also indicted in May by a federal grand jury on two counts of obstructing the SECâ??s civil investigation.
