White-Collar Crime
Stanford Bond Stayed; Financier Drew $100M from Swiss Bank, Prosecutors Say
Posted Jun 25, 2009, 06:08 pm CST
By Martha Neil
After the approval of a $500,000 bond that would allow Texas billionaire and accused swindler R. Allen Stanford to be released from prison prior to trial in August, a U.S. magistrate judge then stayed the issuance of the bond after prosecutors argued that he is a flight risk, reports Reuters. The government intends to appeal the decision to grant bond.
Meanwhile, during a federal court hearing in the Southern District of Texas, prosecutors said they had uncovered information about a Swiss bank account they characterized as secret. They contend Stanford withdrew $100 million from the account in a year, using the money, in part, to pay bribes to a firm responsible for auditing an Antiguan bank he controls, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).
However, counsel for Stanford, who is accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of $7 billion, scoffed at the idea that the account was secret, the newspaper recounts.
The Houston financier, who is head of the Stanford Financial Group, pleaded not guilty to a long list of fraud charges in the court hearing, along with three other defendants.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Financier Stanford Indicted in $7B Scam After Surrender"
Bloomberg: "Stanford Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud at Texas Hearing"