Sir Allen Stanford

[John Simkin]

The SEC alleges that Sir Allen Stanford misled investors in a fraud whose total value reaches $8bn (£5.6bn). He is accused of encouraging investors using false information about the performance of his banks, including claims that he put the money into tradable shares when in fact it went towards real estate and private equity.

When this was announced by the SEC without being certain of his whereabouts suggested that the authorities did not want him arrested. The problem is that Stanford's clients used him to hide money from the taxman in offshore accounts. If he talks, he could cause a lot of problems for some powerful people. The FBI tracked him down yesterday in Fredericksburg, but still they did not arrest him. They are obviously waiting for someone to kill him first.