The thousands who invested $7 billion (£4.5 billion) in Allen Stanford's alleged Ponzi scheme are unlikely to get more than 10% of their money back.
The receiver investigating Stanford International Bank today warned he had discovered a $6 billion (£3.9 billion) "hole".
Stanford, who arrived at Lord's cricket ground in 2008 to sign up the England team for a $1 million tournament in the West Indies, lured more than 27,000 investors into his scheme.
But Nigel Hamilton Smith, head of corporate restructuring at the listed accountancy firm Vantis, said Standford “siphoned away” $6 billion.
The receiver, who was appointed by the Antiguan government, told Insolvency News: “There is meant to be funds from deposits worth £7.3 billion.
"However, the only assets existing are worth $500 million to $700 million, creating this $6 billion hole. All the money invested was siphoned away and spent on creating this huge financial empire. While it would be naïve to think Stanford didn't stash away something, it certainly wasn't billions.”
The news led to shares in Vantis falling 3% to 22.8p. The firm recently told shareholders that it had not collected any fees for the advisory work carried out on the liquidation of Stanford International Bank, because the assets had been frozen.
Its auditors Ernst & Young warned that “material uncertainties associated with receipts from the Stanford insolvency ... may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern”.
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