Antiguan Court Hearing Scheduled for April 8th on the Approval of the Joint Settlement Agreement and Cross-Border Protocol for Stanford International Bank

A Potential Distribution of Assets in Close Proximity

Antigua, March 22, 2013 – Earlier this week, the Antiguan Court scheduled the hearing of an Application of the Joint Liquidators to Approve the Settlement Agreement with the Receiver, the US Department of Justice, and others. The hearing will be held before Madam Justice Henry of the Antiguan Court at 11:30am, local time on April 8, 2013. Creditor-victims may file responses to the application with the Antiguan court and may attend the hearing to voice their opinions on the Agreement. The Joint Liquidators advise creditor-victims to file their responses by 4:00 p.m., Wednesday April 3, 2013 Eastern Standard Time to ensure that their opinions are considered, effectively, and to also e-mail their response to stanford.claims@uk.gt.com.

The appropriate method to lodge responses with the Court is by filing an affidavit setting out the issues which form the basis of the relevant response.

This hearing, along with that scheduled by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas for April 11, 2013, on the same matter, brings creditor-victims of the Stanford fraud closer to an expeditious distribution of assets as a result of the unified plan among the Joint Liquidators, the Receiver, and the DOJ. Among the benefits, the Settlement Agreement, which will only become effective after it has been approved by courts in the US, Antigua and the United Kingdom, resolves litigation over approximately $300 million in assets frozen in Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, provides for coordinated claims processes, and cooperation and an exchange of information with respect to litigation recoveries.

Further information on the procedure for filing responses, and a copy of the Agreement, are posted on the Joint Liquidators’ official website at www.sibliquidation.com. Persons who believe they were victims of this fraud scheme should visit this sites for additional information.

For a full and open debate on the Stanford Receivership visit:

http://sivg.org.ag/

The Stanford International Victims Group Forum

A TIMELY CALL FOR HARMONY AMONG VICTIMS AND THEIR ATTORNEYS

Dear Stanford Investors and Attorneys of Stanford Investors:

We at KLS, and the managers of this blog "Stanford's Forgotten Victims", are very pleased that we have been able to overcome the sovereign immunity hurdle, and the U.S. Government’s motion to dismiss in this case.

We recognize, however, that this is an opportunity not only for KLS and its clients but for all investors who have filed, or attempted to file claims with the SEC. As you know, we have filed our case as a class action. As such any victory we obtain is a victory for all class members (all those who have filed claims with the SEC).

Along with KLS, there were many other attorneys who did attempt to file claims with the SEC on behalf of their clients. Regardless of the rancor that may have existed between attorneys and investors in the past, now is not the time to dwell on conflict, but to breed the kind of bond that can assist this case in going forward with the kind of strength we want to engender, with seriousness, collegiality, fairness, and propriety as our guide.

Investor recovery should be first and foremost for all investors and all attorneys of investors. As such, we would like to encourage all investors (who have filed with the SEC in any manner whatsoever) or their attorneys who have done so, to contact us so that we can determine a common strategy forward to benefit all investors.

We thank you all for your support, and your criticism. After all, we believe, all the feedback we have received has assisted us, and culminated in the formulation of our initial victory in this case!

Best wishes,
Gaytri Kachroo


 
Dr. Gaytri D. Kachroo
PRINCIPAL
KLS-Kachroo Legal Services, P.C.
225R Concord Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Direct: 1-617-864-0755
Facsimile: 1-617-864-1125
http://www.kachroolegal.com

KLS complaint against the U.S. Government/SEC

Please find below the KLS complaint against the U.S. Government/SEC for its negligence in the Stanford case causing billions of dollars of losses to investors. KLS continues to amend and file claims with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission so that you can all be covered by this complaint and the class that it represents. All those of you who may have filed with another attorney must amend your claims in order to be covered by this complaint.

KACHROO LEGAL SERVICES, P.C.

Dr. Gaytri D. Kachroo

219 Concord Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02142

Telephone: (617) 864-0755

Facsimile (617) 864-1125

gkachroo@kachroolegal.com

Press Release

Ft. Lauderdale, FLA – A class action lawsuit was filed against the United States yesterday, December 13, 2011, for the billions in losses suffered by investors in the Allen Stanford international Ponzi scheme.

The case, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeks to hold the SEC responsible for its failure to stop Stanford and his registered investment advisor and broker/dealer company Stanford Group Company (“SGC”), who the SEC investigated several times between 1997 and 2004. The suit claims that the SEC was grossly negligent in its actions following each investigation in failing to take any action to stop Stanford, whom SEC official had determined was operating a Ponzi scheme. The class action against the SEC was filed the day after the SEC filed suit against the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) for its refusal to reimburse investors for their losses.

“This case is unique because the SEC knew all along that this was a fraud and did nothing,” said lead attorney Dr. Gaytri Kachroo of Kachroo Legal Services, P.C. (KLS), who is representing investors in the class action. “If the SEC had simply refused to register SGC for any of its various securities laws violations or reported to SIPC that SBC was a Ponzi scheme and insolvent, the SEC could have stopped this scheme over a decade ago.”

In government investigations in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2004, the SEC determined that Stanford was operating a Ponzi Scheme, but failed to take action to prevent his fraud. After increasing pressure from the Madoff collapse, the SEC finally acted in 2009, filing a case in federal court against Stanford and his companies, but only after investors had been defrauded of over $7 billion. The suit also alleges that the court-appointed SEC receiver has only been able to recover $100 million, net of expenses, out of the $7 billion investors lost because of the SEC’s negligence.

The case is Zelaya et al. v. United States of America, Case No. 11-CV-62644-RNS (S. D. Fla. 2011).

What the UN Thinks of Antigua

Overview

In 2009, the sudden implosion of the Stanford Financial Group due to an alleged $8 billion investment fraud exposed strong ties between billionaire financier R. Allen Stanford and the government of Antigua and Barbuda. Several defrauded investors filed lawsuits claiming that the government had benefited from the schemes and aided in the cover-up, heightening political tensions in the country.

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4c0ceb0bc.html

Sun Printing and Publishing folds

The last vestige of what was once the R Allen Stanford empire crumbled Friday afternoon, with the closure of Sun Printing and Publishing Company Limited for an indeterminable period.

The 46 members of the Antigua staff and four in St Kitts received letters that read, in part, “owing to circumstances beyond our control, the company will be unable to sustain operations in the immediate future.”

Interestingly, a check on the St Kitts office, by an OBSERVER reporter, just after 3:30 pm yesterday as the staff in Antigua was receiving the news, revealed that up to that point, they were unaware of the development.

The letter noted that the directors, Stanford’s fiancée Andrea Stoelker and Barbara Streete, are working with legal counsel “to explore possible options for a solution to our short and long term difficulties.”

It was just last month that the paper was not printed for a week because of financial constraints that rendered management unable to clear a shipment of paper from the port.
Additionally, Antigua-based staffers said they walked away from the posh offices at the gateway to VC Bird International Airport being owned salaries for the last two pay periods.

The letter, which was signed by General Manager Patrick Henry, noted that there should be news on the way forward in the middle of next week. Incidentally, Stoelker was not at yesterday’s meeting and the news was delivered by Henry, who employees said spoke with his head hung. Only about half of the staff was present.

Sources said the directors are in discussions with the principals of the Barbados Advocate, who expressed an interest in the company.

Informed that rather than a sale, a lease option is being discussed, members of staff crafted a proposal, to which they had no reply at the time of going to press, to ask Stoelker and Streete to consider using 25 per cent of the severance owed to a group of them to lease the operations.

Sun employees had received severance letters at the end of July 2009, although they did not receive the monies to which they were entitled at the time. Those sums are, however, accruing interest until such a time that they can be paid.

There was mixed emotions from employees with whom this newspaper spoke yesterday afternoon. Some said they saw this coming and had prepared as best they could. Others said they were hopeful that issues would be resolved and they would be back at work with the company in some form or other, and a few were clearly dejected at the prospects of having commitments and being unemployed.

Of further concern to another set was issues not addressed yesterday, such as late notice of the lay off, outstanding salaries and vacation pay.

The Sun, which began operations in 1998, in the past 12 months doggedly withstood the loss of its benefactor, who is in a Texas jail waiting to defend himself against charges that he orchestrated a massive ponzi scheme.

With diminished capacity, statute and skeleton staff, Stanford Development Company (SDC) struggles on.

Several other Stanford companies, namely The Pavilion, Stanford Trust, Antigua Athletic Club, Sticky Wicket Restaurant, Stanford Cricket Ground, SDC Warehouse at Powells Estate and the Parking Lot were forced out of operation earlier this year for outstanding utilities owed to Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA).

The Latin America Victims Coalition Begs For help to 71 Legislators Of The US Congress

The Coalición Víctimas de Stanford América Latina begs for help to 71 Legislators of the US Congress

Citizens of Latin America, victims of the pyramidal fraud perpetrated by R. Allen Stanford, represented by the Coalición Víctimas de Stanford América Latina, are begging 71 US Legislators from Congress to help them recover their savings that vilely were stolen by this U.S. citizen, in complicity with a group of US Congressmen, before the inexplicable negligence of the US regulatory agencies and, the compromising silence of the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

Jaime R. Escalona, Leader of the Coalition, confirmed the mailings of this request for humanitarian help to the following members of Congress:

27 Senators

John Kerry, Richard G. Lugar, Christopher Dodd, David Vitter, Mary Landrieu, John Cornyn, Richard Shelby, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Johnny Isakson, Thad Conhran, Roger Wicker, Jeanne Shaheen, Bob Corker, Bill Nelson, Mark Pryor, Blanche Lincoln, Richard Burr, Robert Casey, Christopher Bond, Arleen Specter, Evan Bayh, Lamar Alexander, Jeff Sessions, Jon Kyl, Robert Menéndez, Charles Schumer, y Garrett S. Richter.

44 Representantes

Bill Cassidy, Travis Childers, Lynn Woolsey, Charles Boustany Jr., Steve Scalice, Rodney Alexander, John Fleming, Kenny Marchant, Charlie Melancon, Allyson Schwartz, Gregg Harper, Gene Taylor, Bennie Thompson, Dennis Kucinich, Ciro Rodriguez, Ileana Ros-Lehtiner, Pete Sessions, Anh Cao, Ron Klein, Roy Blunt, Tim Murphy, Lamar Smith, John Boozman, Alcee Hastings, Jo Bonner, Pete Olson, Mike Coffman, John Duncan, Sue Myrick, William Delahunt, Tom Cole, John Hall, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Phil Gingrey, Lincoln Diaz Balart, Mario Diaz Balart, Tom Rooney, Elijah Cummings, Mike Rogers, Joe Wilson, Harold Rogers, Rush Holt, Brad Miller, y Tom Grady.

“It is very important to us that these 27 Senators and 44 Representatives of the US Congress have in their hands a document that explains the situation of need and hardship that thousands of innocent Latin American families are suffering because they believed in the moral ethics of the United States and the efficiency of its institutions”, said Escalona.

He also mentioned: “We know that the political support of these 71 honorable Legislators has been very valuable to the US victims, enabling the prompt recovery of their money. The Latin American victims demand equal treatment”.

In regards to the robbery of the $7.2 billion US dollars, Escalona said: “For at least 10 years, R. Allen Stanford and his accomplices perpetrated a massive Ponzi scheme, cleverly orchestrated, through the sales of certificates of deposit (CDs) issued by Stanford International Bank Limited (SIBL). Of the defrauded $7.2 billion dollars, more that 78% was foreign capital (non US), which was injected into the United States to boost the depressed economy and to create jobs”.

In regards to the profile of Latin American Depositors, Escalona explained: “The majority of Latin American victims affected are honest people, many are elderly, ill or close to retirement who, in order to preserve their patrimony from devaluations, high inflation and the arbitrary decisions from their governments, sold their properties and along with their savings purchased certificates of deposit to ensure a monthly income to cover their medical and living expenses. Of the 27,992 clients distributed in 113 countries around the world, more than 84% are foreign victims (non US citizens)”.

In regards to Stanford International Bank Limited (SIBL), Escalona said: “Even though SIBL had its domicile in St. John’s - Antigua, the operations were controlled and administered from the United States by US citizens - subject to the jurisdiction of the US Courts”.

In regards to the legality of the Certificates of Deposit (CDs), the Leader of the Coalition remarked: “All 27,992 Stanford’s victims were robbed of their savings with the same financial instrument: certificates of deposit (CDs) issued by SIBL domiciled in Antigua. SIBL marketed the CDs to investors in the United States exclusively through SGC (Stanford Group Company) advisers pursuant to a Regulation D private placement. In connection with the private placement, SIB filed several forms D with the SEC. For this reason the financial advisors made use of the legitimacy offered by the United States regulations to incentivize the sale of the CDs around the world”.

In regards to Stanford International Bank Limited (SIBL) and the Law for Investment companies, the COALITION VICTIMAS DE STANFORD AMERICA LATINA asks: “How did the SEC allow the public offering of the CDs through the use of the mail and other instruments of interstate commerce, if SIBL as the issuer of the CDs was not registered in conformity to the laws applied to a foreign country (Investment Company Act)”.

This document from the COALICION VICTIMAS DE STANFORD AMERICA LATINA, sent to 71 Legislators of the US Congress concludes with the following considerations:

That the US Government was a necessary accomplice in the perpetration of this pyramidal fraud. Its inefficiencies and/or negligence of its regulatory agencies such as the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation), the Department of Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and dozens of state regulatory agencies of securities and banking, among others, ignored the complaints that Stanford employees began to formulate in 2001, warning of this Ponzi scheme that has ruined the lives of thousands of families around the world.
That R. Allen Stanford maintained his fraudulent business thanks to the diligent participation of a significant group of unscrupulous US Congressmen who succeeded in blocking the enactment of financial laws that could have uncovered Stanford’s frauds.
That the US Government through the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its related agencies irresponsibly did not act against R. Allen Stanford and his businesses, even though there was justified suspicion for more than a decade about his criminal actions.
Escalona concluded saying “The US Government must accept its role and assume its responsibilities before the Latin American victims with the immediate restitution of their patrimony that was stolen from them”.

Browne: Government should meet with Stanford Victims Coalition

Parliamentary representative for the St. John’s City West constituency and Deputy Leader of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP), Gaston Browne, is advising government to meet with the group calling itself the Stanford Victims Coalition (SVC) in an attempt to work out an amicable solution to the current impasse between both entities.

“Clearly these so-called victims are making some progress in waging what is considered by many as a form of “economic terrorism” with their dishonest and downright malicious “Anti-Antigua Campaign,” Browne said.

He added that the SVC recently circulated 20,000 leaflets at a tourism promotion show in the USA as a counter strategy to our delegation’s efforts to promote Antigua and Barbuda as a premier tourism destination.

The MP continued by saying that in the leaflet the SVC characterised the UPP government as corrupt and asserted that the UPP government is pursuing a brazen act of thievery by seeking to expropriate hundreds of millions of dollars in assets owned by R. Allen Stanford and have established a Web site to wage their smear campaign.

Browne said that, “Notwithstanding the claims against former regulator Leroy King, which incidentally, are yet to be proven, there is no evidence of collusion by the government past or present, confirming that the government colluded with Stanford in any way to defraud depositors.

"The Stanford Victims Coalition members must, however, understand that they are not the only victims, all of the stakeholders to include, the former employees of the Stanford Group of Companies and the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda are victims of this unfortunate development.

Therefore, it is patently wrong for the SVC members to hold the Antiguan and Barbuda government exclusively responsible for what, if proven, would have been a global crime spanning 28 countries including the USA, which incidentally had similar regulatory responsibilities. This “lose-lose,” selective, economic terroristic strategy that is being pursued by SVC is self-defeating and begs the question as to why aren’t they targeting the US regulators and the US government, whose regulatory control was equally defective. I imagine this is a typical bullying tactic against a vulnerable small island state which should be resisted.”

Browne said, “The chairman of the SVC indicated during a recent radio programme on Observer Radio that they are reluctantly pursing this destructive course of action out of frustration and that they are willing to meet and settle the issue amicably.

“Rather than allowing this problem to fester to the detriment of the state, the government should indicate unequivocally, to all stakeholders, including the SVC members, how it intends to treat these assets to avert the anxieties, frustrations and counterproductive actions of the victims here and abroad.

"The UPP government should constructively engage all stakeholders to include SVC members, the former staff members of (SGC) and others to develop a national response to this problem, instead of running the risks of antagonising 500 individuals of means who, clearly, are prepared to utilise their influence and financial resources to sully the name of Antigua and Barbuda and to damage our tourism product, he concluded.

Antigua AG on Regulatory Investigation

Stanford victims want US to block Antigua money

Chairman of the Antigua Labour Party Gaston Browne said efforts by a group of United States investors to sue the local government over the Sir Allen Stanford matter is out of line.

“That case is not a justifiable one, the investors had a private contract with Stanford, they don’t have any contractual agreement between themselves and the government and for them now to look for the government to pay them is absolute nonsense.”

The Stanford Victims Coalition and the law firm Morgenstern & Blue sent a letter on Friday to over 50 US senators and congressmen asking them to block Antigua from receiving any funding from the IMF, this according to a report in another news medium.

According to the article, Antigua’s involvement in the alleged US$7.2 billion Stanford International Bank scandal is one example of the country’s alleged history of corruption.
In the article, it is alleged that this fraud led to the losses of life’s savings belonging to 28,000 victims from around the world, it also indicated that the country is accused of profiting from its relationship with Stanford for many years and now it has taken steps to expropriate properties that were purchased with up to US$1 billion of investors funds.

Browne said the government of Antigua and Barbuda should not be on the losing end of this debacle, as the government did not have any contractual agreement with the investors.
He, however, added that the Antiguan government should not have acquired those real estate properties belonging to Sir Allen in the wholesale manner in which they did as forewarned by the opposition party.

“We had said to them for instance when we went to Parliament that if there were strategic assets like around the airport that they needed to acquire for expansion and soon, that would be satisfactory, but for them to acquire other assets which evidently is of no particular interest to the development of Antigua and Barbuda is creating a liability for the government.”

The Party chairman said those assets were part of the receivership estate and should have been shared among the creditors.
Efforts to contact Minister of Finance Harold Lovell for comment proved futile as he was engaged in a series of meetings.

Janvey Stops Stanford ‘End Run’ to Tap Lloyd’s Coverage in U.K.

R. Allen Stanford’s court-appointed receiver persuaded a U.S. judge to block the accused Ponzi scheme mastermind’s bid to access insurance funds to pay his lawyers at a hearing today in London Chancery court.

Ralph Janvey, who was placed in charge of Stanford’s financial empire, told a Dallas judge the Texas financier is trying “a blatant attempt to end run this court” by asking the U.K. court to order the insurer to pay over Janvey’s objections. U.S. District Judge David Godbey yesterday ordered Stanford to withdraw his petition from the London court.

“It appears that Stanford is purporting to seek relief before another tribunal relating to the policies,” Godbey wrote in an order posted on his court’s Web site. “Such actions by Stanford both violate the terms of this court’s prior orders, as well as threaten to interfere with this court’s jurisdiction over the policies.”

Janvey has been fighting Stanford’s efforts to unlock frozen assets or access his Lloyd’s of London liability insurance to hire lawyers to defend against civil and criminal allegations he swindled investors of more than $7 billion through bogus certificates of deposit at Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.

‘Very Unfortunate’

“The court’s order is entirely appropriate,” Janvey said yesterday in a statement issued by his spokeswoman, Kristie Blumenschein. “It is very unfortunate that Mr. Stanford and his attorneys continue to engage in conduct which needlessly increases the costs of litigation to the receivership.”

Stanford, 59, who denies any wrongdoing, is in jail in Texas awaiting trial on 21 felony charges that mirror civil fraud claims filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He is recovering from a Sept. 24 fight with another inmate that left him with a concussion, two black eyes and a broken nose, said Kent Schaffer, Stanford’s criminal-defense lawyer.

“He was beaten up,” Schaffer said. “I don’t know what the circumstances are that led to the fight or why they kept him in the hospital until Sunday morning.”

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who is presiding over Stanford’s criminal case in Houston, granted the defendant’s request for a transfer from a private Texas jail to a federal facility closer to his lawyers in downtown Houston.

Sworn Statements

Janvey filed copies of sworn statements that Stanford’s lawyers submitted last week to the British court, seeking an emergency hearing in London to force the receiver to stop interfering with payment by Lloyd’s of some fees to Stanford’s lawyers under the liability policy. Janvey claims the bulk of the policy coverage should be reserved for his use to defend Stanford’s companies against claims.

British lawyer Simon Peter Kamstra, in a statement dated Sept. 23, told the British court that the SEC and the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office have no objection to Stanford obtaining legal defense funds through the Lloyd’s policy. The SEC, which has opposed letting Stanford access frozen funds to hire attorneys, hasn’t taken a position on Stanford’s access to insurance proceeds in papers filed with the Dallas judge.

Stanford faces “at least 49 separate United States proceedings,” as well as lawsuits in Switzerland, Israel, Panama, Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore, Kamstra said in his statement to the British court. Because Stanford hasn’t been represented by lawyers at most of these proceedings, judgments are being entered against him in several cases, Kamstra said.

Stanford was assigned to the federal public defender’s office in Houston two weeks ago by the judge overseeing his criminal case when the financier couldn’t say he had access to any funds for his defense. Kamstra mentioned that to the U.K. court, too.

Frozen Funds

Godbey has rejected Stanford’s requests for at least $10 million in frozen funds unless he can prove the money isn’t tainted by fraud. Godbey hasn’t ruled on requests over who can access Lloyds’ coverage that could be worth $90 million. More than 60 former employees of Stanford Financial Group, including its founder, have asked to draw on the policy.

Stanford’s British lawyers asked the U.K. court to order Janvey to drop his objections to Lloyd’s paying Stanford’s attorneys and to stop interfering with the payments.

Some Lloyd’s of London underwriters joined Janvey’s request to block Stanford’s attempt to obtain insurance coverage through the U.K. court proceeding today, according to documents filed yesterday in federal court in Dallas.

‘Threatening’ Letter

The underwriters said Stanford’s civil lawyers had sent them a Sept. 22 letter “threatening” legal action if they didn’t begin to pay Stanford’s legal bills immediately. Their lawyer, Daniel Lane of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP asked Godbey to rule on the issue “so the underwriters will not risk entry of competing and inconsistent orders” from the British court.

Hittner signed an unrelated order yesterday regarding Stanford’s legal team. He blocked Schaffer and the federal public defender’s Houston office from representing the financier on any appellate issue that arose before they were appointed as Stanford’s taxpayer-funded defense counsel on Sept. 16.

Schaffer said in a phone interview that the order will keep him from asking a full panel of judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans to review Hittner’s June 30 order denying Stanford bail on the grounds he might flee. A three-judge appellate panel already denied Stanford’s request to have the bail denial overturned, and his request for en-banc review must be filed at the New Orleans court by Oct. 8, Schaffer said.

Robert Luskin and Christina Sarchio, attorneys with Washington-based Patton Boggs LLP who filed an earlier appeal for Stanford on the bail issue, didn’t immediately return calls or e-mails seeking comment on whether they will continue working for the jailed financier.