Stanford Victims Dismiss PM's Statement, Asks US to Help

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Angela Shaw
Director, Stanford Victims Coalition

STANFORD VICTIMS SAY ANTIGUAN GOVERNMENT RESPONSE FAILS TO ADDRESS LAWSUIT’S ALLEGATIONS, HEAD TO WASHINGTON TO ASK U.S. TO STEP IN

March 31, 2010 (WASHINGTON, D.C.) One week after Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer responded to allegations of the government’s involvement in the $7.2 billion Stanford Financial Group Ponzi scheme and its subsequent unlawful actions to seize assets belonging to the Stanford estate, the Stanford Victims Coalition met with representatives of the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. to discuss Antigua’s outright failure to address the core arguments of the class-action lawsuit filed against the island nation and how the U.S. can step in to help.

“Prime Minister Spencer’s statement didn’t even begin to acknowledge the central allegations of the victims’ lawsuit,” said attorney Peter Morgenstern, who filed the class-action lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Antigua and Barbuda in July 2009 on behalf of 28,000 defrauded investors from 113 countries. “Nowhere in the statement did Antigua address how and whether it intends to repay the more than $230 million in loans that even its former Finance Minister acknowledged the government owes to various Stanford entities, nor did it discuss the fate of the 49 properties it illegally expropriated shortly after the commencement of the SEC’s civil proceedings in the United States last year and referred to as a ‘bargaining chip’ to be used in negotiations with the Receiver appointed by the U.S. District Court.”

“Prime Minster Spencer’s statement clearly avoided the issues at hand and it was apparent we had to ask the U.S. government to step in to help force Antigua to address this escalating issue,” said Angela Shaw, the director and founder of the Stanford Victims Coalition (SVC), an international advocacy group representing the Stanford International Bank depositors, many of whom lost their entire life’s savings under Antigua’s regulatory watch.

“Not only did Antigua fail to do its job to uphold its banking laws with a bank in their sole jurisdiction, which ultimately cost us $7.2 billion, but then the government added insult to injury when it seized without compensation assets that were purchased with our stolen deposits,” said Shaw. “Based on Prime Minister Spencer’s statement issued last week and its actions over the past year, it is quite apparent Antigua will not do the right thing on its own accord, and we’ve asked the U.S. to take action to help us compel them to do so. U.S. law clearly protects its citizens from expropriation of property by foreign governments.”

In addition to not acknowledging the properties that have been seized or Antigua’s outstanding loans, the SVC noted the government’s statement did not mention the results of Antigua’s investigation into the culpability of Leroy King, the former head of Antigua’s Financial Services Regulatory Commission, who has been indicted on criminal charges in the U.S., or the role played by other Antiguan government officials in the Stanford fraud. Additionally, the Antiguan government has not fully cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice to extradite Leroy King to the U.S., and has delayed or postponed his extradition hearing multiple times.

“It is remarkable that Antigua denies any liability to the victims of this multi-billion dollar fraud, even after its senior banking regulator was indicted for bribery in the United States,” Morgenstern said. “The Antiguan court’s lack of urgency to hold King’s extradition hearing appears to be another stall tactic to prevent further exposure of other Antiguan government officials. When King is extradited to the U.S., he will be subject to questioning by U.S. officials and additional Antiguan government officials could be implicated if King reveals the real story behind Stanford’s and Antigua’s partnership.”

The SVC said that instead of addressing serious allegations outlined in the lawsuit against Antigua, Prime Minster Spencer’s statement attempts to shift blame for the Stanford fraud to the U.S. government and its own opposing political party. Vantis, the liquidation firm appointed by the Antiguan government to oversee the winding down process of Stanford International Bank has spent many months making the case in multiple international courts that Stanford’s operations were all centered around its offshore bank in Antigua and that no other country had jurisdiction over Stanford International Bank.

“Prime Minster Spencer’s statement in many ways directly contradicts what the liquidator it appointed has spent 13 months and millions of dollars arguing,” said Shaw. “Antigua can’t have it both ways. Vantis is acting as an extension of the Antiguan government and has worked diligently to attempt to prove the Stanford Ponzi scheme’s ‘Center of Main Interest’ was Antigua – meaning the majority of the responsibility to detect the fraud would have rested clearly on Antigua’s shoulders”

Prime Minister Spencer’s allegations that the government’s predecessors in power, who “sold crown lands to Stanford, received loans from Stanford or was a beneficiary of any largesse of Stanford,” is irrelevant, said Shaw. “Our lawsuit is against the government of Antigua – not the United Progressive Party.” The SVC also noted that Stanford International Bank’s staggering growth as well as the expropriation of the properties occurred under the current administration.

Representatives of the SVC made multiple requests for an appointment with the Antiguan Ambassador in Washington, who would not agree to a meeting.

“Antigua has ignored our repeated offers to attempt to resolve our disputes in a consensual manner, and as a result, the SVC will continue with its ‘Anti-Crime, Anti-Antigua’ campaign until we receive a legitimate response in a court of law,“ said Shaw. The Anti-Antigua campaign, which was announced on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. SEC lawsuit against Stanford, calls for a boycott of, travel to, and investment in, Antigua.

“Instead of hiding behind false statements that don’t address the specific allegations in our complaint and blaming the innocent victims who continue to suffer as a result of Antigua’s and Allen Stanford’s criminal actions, Antigua must address this case head on,” Morgenstern said. “We invite Antigua to stop avoiding service of our complaint, come out of hiding, and join us in seeking a verdict from a court, after a full and fair presentation of arguments by both sides.”