Stanford International Bank liquidators seek to unfreeze funds

The newly appointed liquidators of Stanford International Bank (SIB), Marcus Wide and Hugh Dickson, announced yesterday that they hope to reach a compromise with various governments, including the US Department of Justice, to unfreeze hundreds of millions of dollars in assets in an effort to recover the billions lost by the more than 27,000 creditors of SIB.

“The estate has virtually no funds, but is saddled with obligations that exceed money on hand. Convincing government officials around the world to unfreeze the funds is a top priority,” a press release said.

“We hope to meet with the Department of Justice to understand the reasoning behind their approach and see if a compromise can be reached which will allow the estate to go forward with its own funds, and therefore maximise returns to creditors,” Dickson said.

“To have access to the bank’s own funds presently frozen by the criminal forfeiture proceedings would generate a considerable value to the estate in terms of allowing additional recovery and asset realisations to maximise recoveries,” he added.

The duo, the release said, have contacted officials from the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom, the Prosecutor and Bankruptcy Trustee in Switzerland, and officers of the Attorney General of the Province of Ontario, Canada in recent weeks.

“Our objective has been to determine in the quickest time possible how the financial interests of the account holders, CD holders, and general creditors of the bank are best served,” Wide said.

“We have also been in contact with the US Department of Justice, the US Receiver, and the Creditors’ Committee for the US Receivership, with a view towards meeting with them once we have a better understanding of the issues between them and the SIB liquidation in Antigua,” the communiqué continued.

Dickson and Wide, who by order of the High Court last month replaced Nigel Hamilton-Smith and Peter Wastell as liquidators, also said they are considering the sale of real estate holdings in Antigua and are in the process of forming an advisory creditors committee, the release noted.

“These holdings are extensive and it is likely their value can be greatly enhanced if they are brought to market in an orderly manner over a period of time,” Dickson said.