Senate Resolution Seeks Sanctions Against Antigua

Caribarena
Monday, 12 December 2011 02:30 Colin Sampson

Antigua St John's - A group of United States senators has again asked the US Senate to recommend the imposition of economic and financial sanctions on Antigua & Barbuda.

The proposed sanctions are outlined in Senate Resolution No 346, placed before the Senate on December 8.

The full text of Senate Resolution 346 is appended below.

The resolution deals extensively with matters relating to actions taken by the Government of Antigua & Barbuda (GOAB) in response to the Allen Stanford debacle.

Resolution 346 describes Antigua & Barbuda as committing “numerous acts against the interest of US citizens,” violating “the order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas,” and challenging “the authority of the (said) Court” as well as “the authority of the United States Department of Justice”.

The resolution accuses the GOAB of benefitting from Stanford International Bank (SIB) certificates of deposit to the tune of US$85M, and demands the return of the money. It also points to a March 2010 statement by the GOAB which shows that Antigua & Barbuda knew – or ought to have known – that SIB was operating outside accepted banking international standards.

In this connection, Resolution 346 accuses Antigua & Barbuda of harbouring former FSRC CEO Leroy King by failing to extradite him to the US to stand trial. The role played by former finance minister Dr Errol Cort, and his law firm, Cort & Cort, was not overlooked. The resolution alleges that over US$1M of Stanford investor funds found its way either to Cort or the firm.

Most striking, perhaps, is the specific mention of the expropriation by the GOAB of the Half Moon Bay resort property. This matter is prominently referred to in Resolution 346, and among the several remedies (acts of restitution and subordination) that the US Senate is asked to require from Antigua & Barbuda is a demand that Antigua & Barbuda fulfill its obligations regarding the expropriation.

The ultimate punch line of Resolution 346 is found in the final paragraph, which reads as follows:

“The Secretary of the Treasury should direct the United States Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association (commonly known as the “World Bank'') and the International Monetary Fund to use the voice and vote of the United States to ensure that any future loan made by the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is conditioned on providing complete redress of the matters, and satisfaction of the requirements, described under paragraph (1).”

The resolution was read into the Congressional Record and referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for further consideration before being returned to the floor of the Senate for possible action.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is chaired by John Kerry (D) Massachusetts – no stranger to Antigua & Barbuda. However Richard Lugar (R) Indiana is Ranking Member (Leader of the Minority). Something of a Republican activist, Lugar is seen as likely to take the matter up by scheduling a hearing before the committee.

This is not the first time the United States Senate has been asked to adopt a resolution of this kind. In 2009, the Senate passed a comparable resolution, on that occasion sponsored by a group of seven senators led by Senator Richard Shelby (R) Alabama.

In 2010, Congressman Mike Coffman (R) Colorado introduced a similar measure into the House of Representatives. Coffman is expected to revive his own resolution in support of the latest action in the Senate.

The House Committee on Foreign Relations is chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ross-Lehtinen (R) Florida. Ross-Lehtinen represents a state where many investors lost huge sums in the fall of the Stanford Empire. She has already indicated her willingness to hold hearings in the matter.

After hearings – most likely early in 2012 - the House and Senate committees may bring the matter to the floor of their respective chambers with a recommendation to proceed with a general vote.

Senate Resolution No 346 is sponsored by senators David Vitter (R) Louisiana, Thad Cochran (R) Mississippi, Roger Wicker (R) Mississippi, and Richard Shelby (R) Alabama. All these senators represent states where many citizens have been severely damaged by the collapse of the alleged Allen Stanford “Ponzi Scheme”.

Senator Vitter is a member of the Senate Committee on Banking and the Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship – among others.

Ranking Member (Leader of the Minority) on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Cochran fulfills the same role on the Subcommittee on Defense, and serves on the Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Senator Wicker is an active member of the Senate Committees on Banking, Commerce and Armed Services.

Possibly the most powerful of the resolution’s four co-sponsors, Senator Shelby is Leader of the Minority on the Senate Banking Committee. He also serves on several Subcommittees, including Economic Policy, Financial Institutions and International Trade & Finance.

Will the International Monetary Fund Become an Accomplice of the Outlaw Government of Antigua?

The COALICION VICTIMAS DE STANFORD AMERICA LATINA asks: "Will the International Monetary Fund (IMF) become another accomplice of the Government of Antigua, knowing that this Government was a partner in crime with R. Allen Stanford in the perpetration of the largest pyramidal fraud in history? Why help them if its Government has not responded for the $7.2 billion dollars that were robbed from the victims distributed in 113 countries, with the complicity of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) of Antigua's Ministry of Finance?

In order to understand the criminal role played by Antigua in the perpetration of this Ponzi scheme, Jaime R. Escalona, Leader of COALICION VICTIMAS DE STANFORD AMERICA LATINA explained the following:

"Among the government of Antigua's many outstanding debts owed to Stanford's victims that it has not seen fit to pay are:

- Loans made from Stanford's companies directly to the Government of Antigua, presumably made with the investors' money. It is estimated that these loans are more than $230 million dollars.

- Payment for the illegal seizure of property by Antigua's government once the fraud was discovered in February of 2009. It is estimated that more than 40 properties were confiscated by the Government of Antigua, valued in several hundreds of millions dollars.

- Payment for the confiscation of the Bank of Antigua, property of Stanford's victims, affected illegally in 2009 by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). This Eastern Caribbean Central Bank became another criminal partner of the Government of Antigua by illegally distributing the Bank of Antigua's assets between the Government of Antigua and 5 other banks in the Caribbean: Antigua Commercial Bank Ltd.; Eastern Caribbean Financial Holdings Company Ltd. in St. Lucia; National Commercial Bank (SVG) Ltd. in St. Vincent y the Grenadines; National Bank de Dominica Ltd.; and St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Ltd.

According to the complaint presented by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) of the United States and the investigations conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the United States; Leroy King, ex-Director of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) from the Ministry of Finance of Antigua, in addition to allowing Stanford to operate his Banks without real regulatory supervision, lied and kept information from the SEC and other International Regulators in order to protect Stanford's fraudulent businesses. In exchange for these favors, Stanford added him to his payroll, transferring illicit payments through Banks in the United States.

With the money robbed from the innocent depositors, R. Allen Stanford committed the following illicit acts:

- Bribed the corrupt Antigua Government Officials.
Provided money for payment of the Island's public employee's payroll.

- Financed new executive facilities for the Government.

- Donated money to build a National Library and

- Donated money to build a University complex

Escalona asks: "Does the IMF not investigate the performance of the Governments that solicit loans? Is it possible that these misdeeds are not sufficient to negate the requested loan by the Government of Antigua?"

"It is important to remind Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF's Managing Director and his significant team of Executive Directors that the majority of Latin American victims are honest people; many are elderly, ill or close to retirement. Stanford's victims are also citizens of countries represented by members of the IMF and for this reason we have the right to be served by the Executive Director and obtain a timely response to our requests;" commented Escalona.

In reference to the economic aid requested by Antigua, Escalona concluded saying, "At this moment the IMF should not give economic assistance to the Government of Antigua. The IMF must show solidarity with Stanford's victims, demanding the Government of Antigua to begin the immediate restitution of the money that was cruelly stolen from the victims with the complicity of the Regulatory Authorities of the Island."

Contact:
Jaime R. Escalona
Leader Coalicion Victimas de Stanford
America Latina
E-mail: jaenrodes@gmail.com;
victimasdestanford@gmail.com
Telephone: (512) 377 9255

Antigua and Barbuda: More Bad News for Stanford Investors

Yet again the widespread extent of corruption and malgovernance in Antigua & Barbuda has been highlighted.

An article published on www.caribarena.com, dated 25 March 2010 entitled "Govt Said No to Blom-Cooper'' shows the mammoth tasks facing the investors cheated by R Allen Stanford.

According to intrepid local political commentator Ian "Magic" Hughes, Antigua & Barbuda squandered mediation offers to resolve the Half Moon Bay expropriation from respected legal luminary Sir Louis Blom-Cooper, and separately, by former US Assistant Secretary of State William Rogers.

Caribarena blames Attorney General Justin Simon for the catastrophic failure.

A letter written by Mrs Querard, Managing Director of H.M.B. Holdings Limited, the American-owned company from which Half Moon Bay was expropriated, is kindly reproduced as follows:

"Your article 'Is VC Our Daddy' and the comments offered by some of your readers in response, are the closest anyone has come to recognizing the issues and considering their consequences. That is why I feel it is important to add the following considerations to your discussion.

There is one clarification that needs to be made to the issues presented by your article: the conditions set out by the AG for what he referred to as "the re-vestment of Half Moon Bay" were considerably more heinous than the simple matter of us waiving the Company's rights to seek redress from those who smeared its Director's name.

Setting aside the argument that, in the first place, no conditions should be attached to the return of stolen property, the AG presented HMB Holdings with several onerous pre -conditions, none of which could be agreed to.

HMB Holdings was required to waive its rights to any legal relief against any and all actions taken by an unrestricted number of individuals, whose claim to such immunity would stem from the fact that they acted while employed by the Government in some general capacity.

This requirement also included our acceptance of a blanket responsibility for any third-party liability incurred by said individuals, making our Company vulnerable to any number of legal actions claiming the return of funds which may have been exchanged in any backroom deals involving our property, under whatever terms these may have been agreed to. Such open-ended liability could not be accepted.

Another pre-condition was a written iron-clad commitment to a time-table for the redevelopment of the property, which could only be adjusted by the Government. Several milestones of achievement were set. Failure to reach each target on the appointed date would automatically cause the Owners to lose the property to the Government.

With Government controlling delivery of permits, clearance of material through customs, and the vagaries of the construction process within an unpredictable hurricane season, this was an equally unacceptable condition. Trusting the Government to act with consideration and goodwill was unfortunately no longer realistic.

Yet another pre-condition, particularly ill-conceived by AG Simon, required us to sign a side--letter with the Government and lie about it to our lender, thereby committing lending fraud. The importance of this requirement, made by the country's Attorney General whose sworn duty it is to protect and uphold the Law, cannot be overstated.

It is also to be noted that two separate internationally driven efforts were initiated by HMB Holdings to build a workable bridge over the hurdles presented by these pre-conditions.

One was an offer of mediation made in 2005 by Sir Louis Blom-Cooper who was introduced to this issue by Geoffrey Robertson Q.C. This offer was rejected out of hand by AG Simon, claiming there were no differences between the parties to mediate.

The second effort was undertaken in 2006 by William A. Rogers, once Assistant Secretary of State of the United States of America, acting in concert with the U.S. State Department represented by the Honourable Mary Kramer, then U.S. Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean States. Prime Minister Spencer welcomed both emissaries and the opportunity to resolve the Half Moon Bay conundrum out of Court.

He reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding they brought with them and saw no impediment to his signing. He then entrusted the review of the proposal to AG Simon. After a two month delay in dealing with the matter, the AG scuttled the effort by refusing to communicate with Mr. Rogers.

The point I am making here is that Prime Minister Spencer's intentions of long ago may have survived the appointment of Justin Simon as Attorney General, but had no effect against the AG's determination to oppose them and seize the Half Moon Bay property. Whatever the PM's intentions or promises, they - and he, himself - have been totally compromised.

In that regard, your article is completely correct, as is the poignant cartoon in the Daily Observer, to which you refer.

[The cartoon shows a blindfolded Baldwin Spencer being led by Justin Simon onto the track of an oncoming train, entitled Half Moon Bay Acquisition/ Stanford, with "Poorhouse" as its destination. Its caption read "Don't do anything. You just stand up there and wait."]

The wasteful and lawless flexing of sovereign muscle, exhibited in dealing with our Company during the process that led to the expropriation of Half Moon Bay, has not shown the Government of Antigua in a good light, long before the Stanford fiasco turned a stronger spotlight on Antigua.

Whether the Antiguan people realize it or not, elsewhere in the world of banking, investment and commerce Half Moon Bay still comes to mind whenever and wherever Antigua is mentioned. Unfortunately, it is no longer remembered as the beautiful spot for ideal vacations, but as a warning to one and all to stay away from dealing with Antigua -- heard by many even before the well-publicized boycott called for by the Stanford's Victims Coalition.

As you know, there are many dots that can be connected to illustrate that fact. The picture has been completed where the truth is known.

The worst of it is that it did not need to happen at all.

Although the old canards dragged out yet again by Antiguan commentators attacking your treatment of the Half Moon Bay disaster do not deserve attention, there are two corrections that need to be made to "tenman's" first comment.

First, by law, the appeal filed against the value of the property established by the Board of Assessment does not relieve the Government of the responsibility to pay the amount awarded by the Board's decision and to do so without delay. In fact, non-payment of the amount awarded is a violation of the owners' Constitutional rights.

Second, the Owners of Half Moon Bay never "abandoned" the property. On the contrary, while plans were drawn, financing opportunities searched out, and battles waged against the Government's attempts to seize the property, HMB Holdings maintained a staff of employees to clean the beach, mow the golf course, clean the roads, prepare the buildings for renovation, develop a greenhouse for anticipated landscaping and offer security for the property and other residents of the Half Moon Bay estates.

It was only after the Government took possession of the property in July 2007, that the property became truly abandoned."

It is very surprising that the recent handout of $124 million dollars being offered to Antigua by the IMF makes no mention of the debt obligation owed to the former owners of Half Moon Bay. Arguably, this is because the Government of Antigua has failed to disclose its true financial picture to the supranational body in the same manner in which it has explicitly denied expropriation of foreign-owned property to buyers of its Sovereign debt obligations and its Treasury Bills.

It appears that lending fraud is an acceptable Antiguan technique, with no consequences except that it attracts those who, like R. Allen Stanford, elevate its practice to a more "successful" level.

The arrangement with the IMF does point out "The other focal point of this engagement is the national debt. The current levels of both domestic and foreign debt constitute a major impediment to achieving financial sustainability. As long as this situation continues, it remains extremely difficult to access funding from any bilateral, multilateral or commercial creditor."

Nevertheless, questions still remain: how and for how long can the IMF continue supporting a bankrupt country which now has a history of "acquiring" foreign-owned private property, without making provision for payment for such "acquisition" and also restricting the practice of expropriation?

What is it about expropriation of American-owned properties causing a breach of international commercial treaties that the World Bank and its subsidiaries do not seem to understand or wish to deal with?

US considers resolution to block aid to Antigua-Barbuda

The Stanford Victims Coalition announced Monday a second United States Congressional Resolution asking the US Secretary of the Treasury to direct the IMF and the World Bank to block funding to the government of Antigua and Barbuda. The Resolution, introduced in the US House of Representatives by Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado, also demands Antigua release to the US.

Receiver overseeing the liquidation of the Stanford estate the 49 properties it has taken actions to expropriate, and repay the loans made by Allen Stanford or any Stanford entity as well as "payments made to officials of the government of Antigua and Barbuda for the purpose of subverting regulatory oversight."

The Resolution has been referred to the powerful US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee for a vote. This action comes on the heels of a similar Senate Resolution sponsored by eight US Senators in December 2009, which is now pending a vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Stanford Victims Coalition, an advocacy group representing the 28,000 victims of the Stanford Financial Group fraud, recently launched its “Anti-Crime, Anti-Antigua” campaign which calls on travel professionals, prospective tourists, and investors from around the world to boycott Antiguan hotels and resorts, cruises to Antigua, investments in Antiguan financial institutions or in companies or ventures based in Antigua. The “Anti-Antigua” campaign also encompasses a comprehensive lobbyist component focused on efforts to block foreign aid and trade with Antigua, according to the SVC.

“When Antigua is ready to make things right and release the assets that were purchased with Stanford victims’ investments, the SVC will stop its efforts to expose Antigua for its corrupt actions,” said Angela Shaw, Executive Director and Founder of the Stanford Victims Coalition, which represents 28,000 defrauded Stanford International Bank-Antigua depositors. “When the crime stops, so will we. Until then, we will pursue every effort we possibly can to warn potential tourists, developers and investors about the dangers of Antigua.”

“This is a very serious matter and in over a year since the Stanford fraud was exposed, the government of Antigua and Barbuda has not publicly acknowledged Stanford investors or shown any level of sympathy or remorse - or worse - its intention to address the devastation this crime has inflicted on innocent people from around the world,” Shaw said. “Prime Minister Spencer has had a chance to show the world Antigua finally knows right from wrong, yet not unlike the previous regime, its actions thus far do not lead anyone to believe the current administration is any different. It’s just business as usual in Antigua.”

Pressure mounts on Antiguan government over Stanford fiasco

Source - Antigua Sun

Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado has introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives seeking to pressure Antigua and Barbuda over the alleged multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme involving disgraced Texan financier, Sir Allen Stanford.

The four-page resolution which was introduced last Friday has been referred to the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee and is now awaiting a vote.

It calls on US Executive Directors to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to ensure that any loan provided to Antigua and Barbuda should have conditions attached.

Coffman wants the Baldwin Spencer administration to release to the US receiver all of Sir Allen properties that were compulsorily acquired and that the country makes several monetary contributions for the benefit of investors who lost money in the alleged scheme that US regulators said amounted to US$ 7 billion.

Specifically, it asks that the government be pressed to give the US receivership estate being managed by Ralph Janvey the same amount of money provided to Antigua and Barbuda by Sir Allen or any Stanford-affiliated entity.

A similar Senate resolution sponsored by eight US Senators in December 2009 is now pending a vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Baldwin Spencer government has in the past criticised the moves to blacklist the country over the affair and has described as “unbelievable” a class action lawsuit filed in the United States by a group of disgruntled investors against the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and the government.

The so-called Stanford Victims Coalition, which filed the action in a New York court claims its 28,000 members fell prey to Sir Allen, who is alleged to have conducted the scheme through his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.

Antigua Prepared To Fight Action From Stanford Investors

Finance Minister Harold Lovell

It was one week but there were two different tones from members of the Baldwin Spencer administration concerning a move by legislators in the United States to block Antigua & Barbuda from accessing a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and to a pending lawsuit from investors burned by R Allen Stanford. Where the minister of finance was defiant, the attorney general seemed contrite .

A group of senators are alleging that the twin-island state shares some culpability in the US $8 million Ponzi scheme Stanford allegedly ran, bilking investors out of their money. They say the US should oppose any new international loans to the country until the government compensates victims. This attempt to exert pressure comes after investors have said they will sue the country.

Speaking on Voice of the People on Thursday, Minister of Finance Harold Lovell declared that the country would fight tooth and nail against the victims’ coalition, which claims that the country owes them up to $24 billion in damages.

“Antigua is a small country so they (are) going pick on us, and (Senior Republican on the Banking Committee Richard Shelby of Alabama) apparently, he has some of his country club constituents who have invested money, so he is now trying to bully-rag us into paying these persons what they say they have lost. But let me tell you, we will fight that tooth and nail; there’s no way we are going to accept that we are liable in any way,” Lovell said.

In what could be classified as the strongest local response on the matter to date, Lovell added, “The persons invested their money in the Untied States. Procedures should have been in place in the United States also to prevent that, and let us look at Madoff … how come the Madoff victims aren’t calling on the US government to compensate them for whatever losses they have incurred?”

The reference was to Bernard Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Stanford’s trial date has been set for January 2011, and as prosecutors prepare for the case, fingers keep pointing back to Antigua, which was the headquarters for Stanford International Bank (SIB).

Among the allegations are that the government benefitted from his largess when he occupied the throne as the single largest investor and that the head of the Financial Services and Regulatory Commission (FSRC), Leroy King, was in collusion with Stanford to bilk investors.

King, who has been charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on multiple counts of conspiracy, remains under house arrest here, as the extradition process meanders through adjournments.

But Lovell, addressing the victims’ claim of culpability, is adamant that any arrangement between government and Stanford were legitimate commercial transactions.

“Even if Allen Stanford is guilty, how does that make Antigua & Barbuda guilty? Is it by association or what? And we say, categorically, that in no way did we have knowledge of whatever he is alleged to have done or were we involved in any way.

“We had a commercial relationship with Mr Stanford. If we got money from Mr Stanford, it was on commercial terms. He had a bank and during the course of the last 15 or so years, monies were borrowed … This administration didn’t borrow any money from Mr Stanford, but the previous administration did borrow (and) they say government is continuous, so, these are liabilities on the books of the Government of Antigua & Barbuda, but we have to pay it back at interest rates that are commercial interest rates,” Lovell said.

But Attorney General Justin Simon, in an interview with FOX Business, was less strident. In fact, he expressed disappointment with allegations of the country’s uncooperativeness and the US and Antigua & Barbuda are close to signing an evidence-sharing agreement that should facilitate the former’s preparations for trial.

“I also note with a certain amount of disappointment the allegations that have been made that Antigua & Barbuda are not cooperating with the authorities, and I’m not sure where they got that information from.

“We have certainly been co-operating. I of myself, have gone off to Miami. I have had meetings with the US prosecutors in terms of exchange of information, and, any day now, I’m expecting an MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) application from the US in respect of the matter, so we have been working very closely,” the AG said.

He referenced co-operation in King’s extradition process to illustrate that Antigua & Barbuda is on board with the US.

The AG also told FOX Business reporter Adam Shapiro that Antigua & Barbuda is cognizant of the victims’ loss.

“They ought to know that we, here in Antigua, are certainly very conscious that a number of investors … have suffered,” he said. “It is our intention to assist as much as possible but we have to do it within the framework of the law.”

ANTIGUA - Bird flaps at US senators over IMF blockade

Opposition Leader Lester Bird has chided a group of United States senators who are moving to block Antigua and Barbuda from getting financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund(IMF), according to a report on www.cananews.net.
"I don't agree with them; you might think that I might want to jump on the boat, but (they are) out of order, totally out of order," Bird said during his contribution to the budget debate on Monday.
"This is a sovereign country and just because they put money in an international institution that does not give them the right to play domestic politics."
Bird's position is in stark contrast to his Antigua Labour Party's (ALP) stance thus far on the government's decision to approach the IMF.
Gov't criticised
The ALP has consistently criticised the government over its move to the IMF, saying that the Washington-based financial institution would not offer much by way of funds to bail out the country from its current economic troubles.
In September, Bird said that the IMF has in mind a programme in which Antigua and Barbuda would only be in line for a maximum of US$13.5 million loan annually for three years.
"It is a drop in the ocean of needs that the UPP (United Progressive Party) regime has created. It will hardly help to create the jobs we need; it will be inadequate to pay wages and salaries in the public service; it will be insufficient to rebuild the roads that have deteriorated under the UPP," Bird said then.
Last week eight, United States senators, including the senior Republican on the Banking Committee, Richard Shelby, introduced a resolution asking that American representatives at the World Bank and the IMF be instructed to prevent any loans to Antigua and Barbuda.
The senators have asked that until the twin-island state compensates victims of the US$7 billion fraud allegedly committed by Sir Allen Stanford through his Antigua-based bank and until the government cooperates with the United States, it should not get any financial assistance from either institution.
The resolution was laid a week ago, but to date there has been no vote on it.

Senators Introduce Stanford Investment Fraud Resolution

Antigua government taken over more than 250 acres of Standford's property

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking Republican on the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, along with Senators Vitter (R-LA), Hutchison (R-TX), Cochran (R-MS), Cornyn (R-TX), Isakson (R-GA), Wicker (R-MS), and Shaheen (D-NH), introduced a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the United States Executive Directors to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose making any loans to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda until that Government cooperates with the United States and compensates the victims of the Stanford Financial Group fraud.
Allen Stanford is known to have had close ties with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, and is alleged, among other things, to have loaned that government at least $85,000,000, which presumably came from Stanford investor funds. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda is refusing to cooperate with the U.S. receiver in charge of gathering the assets of the Stanford Financial Group and distributing them to victims of the fraud. Despite this lack of cooperation in providing recourse to investors in the Stanford Financial Group, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is currently seeking loans from the IMF and World Bank, both of which receive significant funding from the United States Government.

“The Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Allen Stanford cheated thousands of people, many of them in the United States, out of their investments,” Shelby said. “It is essential that to the extent possible these victims get their money back. It is absurd that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is standing in the way of helping victims, while also holding out its hand for funding. This resolution makes clear that the United States will not accept such behavior.”

“It’s unbelievable that a government so intertwined in the allegations against Mr. Stanford has the audacity to ask for money from the IMF and World Bank. Not only was one of Antigua’s regulators allegedly a part of Mr. Stanford’s ponzi scheme, but the Antiguan government has taken over more than 250 acres of Stanford’s property and they have refused to work with the US court appointed receiver. Antigua shouldn’t see a dime of money from the US, IMF or World Bank until the victims of this fraud have first been helped,” said Vitter.

"I urge the U.S. Treasury Secretary to work with the International Monetary Fund to seek cooperation from Antigua and Barbuda in order to compensate the victims of the Stanford Financial Group fraud," Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said.

“Instead of stonewalling efforts to recover assets linked to the scam perpetrated by Allen Stanford and his firm, the government of Antigua and Barbuda should join U.S. and international organizations in trying to find some measure of justice for victims. Government officials in Antigua and Barbuda must understand that their lack of cooperation is unacceptable,” said U.S. Senator Thad Cochran.

“Allen Stanford’s investment schemes devastated countless Texans. The IMF should not loan money to Antigua unless Antigua agrees to cooperate in reimbursing these innocent investors to the fullest extent possible,” said Senator Cornyn.

“Allen Stanford bilked billions of dollars from innocent Americans through his ponzi scheme, and the laws of Antigua shielded the Stanford Financial Group while it operated,” said Senator Isakson. “As long as the Government of Antigua and Barbuda holds assets of Stanford that are not available to the U.S. receiver, it should not receive any funding from the U.S. or the IMF and World Bank. The injured American families deserve no less.”

“Thousands of people have been victimized by the Stanford Ponzi scheme, including many who lost their life savings,” Wicker said. “The cooperation of the Antigua government is essential to helping the victims of this fraud, but this assistance has been consistently denied. It is completely unacceptable for Antigua to receive any loan from the IMF and the World Bank, both of which receive significant funding from U.S. taxpayers. The American government needs to let it be known that this lack of cooperation is not acceptable. This resolution will send that message.”