Stanford Depositors Head To Antigua

Depositors from as far away as Colombia have begun arriving in the island nation of Antigua, seeking to withdraw their money from an offshore bank under investigation by U.S. state and federal authorities.

Reached by telephone on Monday afternoon, the chief financial officer at Stanford International Bank, James M. Davis, declined to comment when asked if investors are having difficulty obtaining redemptions. “I don’t have any comment, but I appreciate your call,” said Mr. Davis, the longtime top aide to Mr. Stanford.

A Stanford spokesman said because of the holiday he was unable to comment on the mutual-fund product.

Mr. Stanford said in a conference call to employees Tuesday there would be a temporary moratorium of two months on early redemptions for CDs, according to one Stanford financial adviser who has worked at the firm for about five years. Several depositors say they have been told the same thing.

In Antigua, anxious depositors have flown in from overseas to seek their money from Stanford International Bank, housed in an imposing neo-Georgian building beside Antigua’s international airport.

Just over three months ago, Mr. Stanford paid out $20 million in prize money to the winners of a single cricket match in Antigua. Mr. Stanford announced his inaugural tournament by descending on Lord’s Cricket Ground in London in what was described as a gold-plated helicopter. According to the Times of London, Mr. Stanford now plans to continue the tournament but in reduced form.

My take here is that many innocent people will sustain losses on their investments – See Stanford Financial Investigated. The SEC has been investigating Stanford since at least 2007.  After seeing the SEC in action with Bernard Madoff, investors should have zero confidence in the SEC’s ability to protect investors.