It retrospect, this would have been bad:

...Antiguan authorities moved Friday to take control of Stanford's offshore bank, an action that could put the Caribbean island government at odds with the SEC. Antiguan regulators named British-based Vantis Business Recovery Service as a receiver for the bank that purported to have $8.5 billion in assets in December.

The SEC, which has installed its own receiver over Stanford Financial's US operations, says it can’t account for the money in the bank. The SEC and Antiguan officials could not be reached for comment. Vantis declined to comment. The little-known London-based firm is said to have beat out some better-known corporate clean-up firms for the job, such as Kroll.

It’s not clear if Antiguan authorities consulted with the SEC before making the pick. A person familiar with the Stanford investigation says for months Antiguan authorities were thumbing their noses at the SEC and rebuffing attempts by US regulators to get information on Stanford's offshore operation.

Not only is the Stanford investigation still unfolding. Now it seems it may get ugly too.

Ugly for more than just Allen Stanford, at this point.

-- MDT

Labels: Kroll, R. Allen Stanford, Thomas Cash

Due to the controversy (and litigation) surrounding his connection to accused ponzi fraudster, R. Allen Stanford, Thomas V. Cash has stepped down from his position at Kroll. Cash had served as Kroll's Executive Managing Director in Miami. Cash's bio page on the Kroll website has already been removed.

-- MDT

Labels: Kroll, R. Allen Stanford, Thomas Cash

You may recall the recent report in Vanity Fair magazine that highlighted the cozy, long term relationship between white collar fraudster, R. Allen Stanford and Kroll - one that involved Stanford paying the investigative firm millions, reportedly, to run interference with inquisitive regulators.

Kroll is facing its first lawsuit relating to the Sanford relationship, filed in Florida's Southern District Court. The complaint has been brought by Electri International, which lost millions investing in Stanford's Stanford International Bank only after hiring - you guessed it - Kroll to vet the deal.

Kroll reportedly issued SIB a clean bill of health in their review, which they claim was "limited due diligence" costing Electri in the neighborhood of $15,000.

Even more interesting, Electri's contact at Kroll in the matter was Thomas V. Cash, Kroll's managing director for investigations in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to Electri's complaint, Cash had been hired as a consultant by R. Allen Stanford in the late 1990s and Kroll never disclosed this relationship. Vanity Fair also named Cash as Kroll's point man with Stanford.

Kroll and Cash are keping mum about the particulars of the Electri lawsuit, but Cash did have this to say to the New York Post:

"I wouldn't believe everything I read in Vanity Fair because most of it's wrong."

Lets take him at his word for the moment and keep close eyes on Florida's Southern District Court.

-- MDT

Labels: due diligence, Electri, Kroll, lawsuit, R. Allen Stanford, Thomas Cash