Oops - the run on Stanford banks has begun

[malaise]

as Depositors flock to Antigua.
<snip>
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123483075794395665.html?mod=testMod
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.

Stanford International Bank Ltd. and related firms controlled by Texas businessman R. Allen Stanford have fallen under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies, according to people familiar with the matter.
----------------------

Looks like the shit is about to hit the gold plated helicopter fan.

[malaise]

1. Seriously this is one more lunatic

Just 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.

As reported, Stanford International Bank recently curtailed financing commitments to two small American companies, regulatory filings show.

The Florida firm losing $16 million in financing from Stanford International is called Elandia International Inc. of Coral Gables, which trades over-the-counter. Elandia says it controls a collection of small telecommunications firms in Latin America and the South Pacific. Efforts to contact Elandia executives by phone and e-mail were unsuccessful.

Stanford also owns a majority of the shares of Health Systems Solutions Inc. of New York City, which is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board. In October the firm agreed to acquire Emageon Inc. of Birmingham, Ala., but the deal was terminated Friday with Emageon attributing the development to Health Systems' inability to obtain funding on or before the closing deadling of Feb. 11.

[leftofthedial]

2. Maybe Tim Geithner can buy him a new jet for his getaway

After all, arresting the crooked SOB would be a dangerous intrusion of government into a private industry.

[leftstreet]

3. "This is not a vacation, I'm here to calm my nerves"

(snip)

One depositor arrived Monday on her first visit to this lush Caribbean island, mobbed in recent days by British tourists following their national cricket squad taking on the West Indies.

"This is not a vacation, I'm here to calm my nerves" said the depositor, who says she has hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in Stanford certificates of deposit. "For some people, this isn't a lot of money. For me this is my life."

:nopity:

[malaise]

4. Well there are at least 100 English reporters in Antigua

as they're playing our team right now.

I do feel sorry for all those people and only hope our players didn't invest the $20million they won in his bank. I've had my own views about Stanford for a long time.

[conscious evolution]

5. Hmmm

I just searched the SEC filings for Stamfords Bank.
Seems they do not like filing quarterly and annual reports. I wonder why that is.

I get the feeling there is more to this than meets the eye.

[malaise]

6. A lot more

We had a few threads going last week. Who is he taking down with him - that is the question.
---------------------------------
<snip>
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- R. Allen Stanford’s offshore lender, Stanford International Bank Ltd., hasn’t been able to complete the financing of two transactions involving U.S. companies in which it owns shares, according to regulatory filings.

The Antigua-based bank, whose affiliated brokerage firm in Houston is under investigation by U.S. securities regulators, according to people familiar with the matter, was released from its obligation to lend Elandia International Inc. $28 million, a filing dated Feb. 6 said.

SIB agreed to cancel 16.14 million common shares that it owned in the telecommunications company. They were worth $18.6 million on Feb. 4, the last day they were traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market before the announcement.

“Since entering into the Credit Agreement, we have performed our obligations and we have not been in default,” Elandia said in a form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Elandia spokesman Javier Rodriguez said today the company modified the credit agreement “because it was in the best interests of Elandia shareholders.” Brian Bertsch, a spokesman for Stanford, declined to comment yesterday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=amEj7USECldI&refer=home

[Jane Austin]

7. I don't know what Mr. Austin was looking at this morning,

but he began reading out loud from it that Mr. Stanford was said to have given John Cornyn a ride on his plane to some island - along with an unnamed woman. Might have been his wife, but it didn't say.

Also that Mr. Stanford had been a large donor to Tom Delay and to that NJ Dem who had to resign in disgrace - Torecetti?

Isn't that just freaking tantalizing?

Anybody know about any of this?

(Ed: Wrote Sanford instead of Stanford)

[malaise]

8. The donations were posted on another thread last week

He also donated to Bush.

Give us more about that lovely JC story. :popcorn:

[Jane Austin]

9. Wish I had more.

I'll look it up when I get where I'm going.

[malaise]

10. Here's HuffPo

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/16/the-next-bernie-madoff-r_n_167198.html?page=3&show_comment_id=20924313#comment_20924313
<snip>
The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Federal Bureau of Investigations are pouncing on the eccentric money man, pulling records and interviewing employees regarding alleged fraud involving his Stanford International Bank. The Antigua-based bank claims to have $8.5 billion in assets and some 30,000 investors.

Sir Stanford--he was the first American to receive knighthood from the government of Antigua and is infamous for his efforts to revive West Indian cricket--has managed to report shockingly consistent returns for years. Even in 2008, when Wall Street was hit across the board, he managed to make a 6% profit on his portfolio.

The return is even more impressive, notes Felix Salmon, given that Stanford International Bank is a bank that doesn't make loans:


Check this out - this must be the link your hubby was reading.
http://www.kissmybigbluebutt.com/#February_13