ECB suspend talks with Stanford over fraud accusation

The England and Wales Cricket Board ECB said Tuesday they together with West Indies cricket chiefs had suspended talks with Allen Stanford after the Texas businessman was accused of a fraud worth more than nine billion dollars by the US Securities and Exchange CommissionAn ECB statement said Following allegations made today Tuesday by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and their decision to apply for a temporary restraining order which was filed in a DallasFort Worth court the England and Wales Cricket Board ECB and the West Indies Cricket Board WICB have suspended negotiations with Allen Stanford and his financial corporation concerning a new sponsorship dealThe SEC charged Stanford and three of his companies with orchestrating a fraudulent multibillion dollar investment scheme centering on an eight billion CD certificate of deposit program a statement from the commission saidThe SEC also made allegations regarding the use of materially false data relating to 12 billion dollars in mutual fund sales by one of Stanfords companiesAntiguabased Stanford was the man behind the Stanford Super Series Twenty20 competition which culminated with his team of handpicked Caribbean Superstars defeating England in a Twenty20 match at his own ground on the island which netted the winning side a million dollars eachIn all Stanford put up 20 million dollars in prize money for a match which was given added spice by the knowledge the players on the losing side would walk away with nothingBut his highprofile presence at the Antigua match caused unease and he was forced to apologise after being pictured with the wife of England wicketkeeper Matt Prior sitting on his kneeIn December Britains Daily Mail newspaper said Stanford who had previously poured millions into Caribbean cricket was withdrawing from cricket after losing 40 million dollars on the match and associated Super SeriesStanfords spokeswoman subsequently confirmed he had axed his ambassadorial board of legends for the Super Series including former West Indies captain and world cricket great Vivian Richards and said he was considering his options when it came to his future involvement in the sportStanford was expected to fund the Super Series competition for a further four yearsHe is also due to bankroll the England Premier League Twenty20 tournament from its inaugural season in 2009 as well as set up an annual fourteam event at Londons Lords Cricket GroundBut it is the cashstrapped WICB who could suffer the biggest blow if Stanford withdraws from cricketAccording to the WICB website Stanford had promised to invest 100 million dollars from 2008 through 2011 20 percent of it directly to grass roots schemes plus an additional monthly backing of 15000 dollars to each of the 20 Caribbean nations in the Twenty20 setupECB chairman Giles Clarke was much criticised for appearing to fawn over Stanford when the Texan landed at Lords in June in his own private helicopter with a box full of millions of dollars The former Somerset chairman was widely credited with being the driving force behind the Stanford deal from the ECB side But he told Sky Sports in Antigua on Tuesday where he was watching the ongoing third Test between the West Indies and England We as a board took a unanimous decision to move forward on this Its not a personal thing at all Those decisions were made the first match was played and all bills were paid for that first game Thats been completed and we passed the money down to the counties Thats where we are Asked about the fresh flak now likely to come his way Clarke replied I am sure there will be Thats part and parcel of cricket administraton He stressed the ECB always regarded Stanford monies as additional income pointing to Englands crowded home programme later this year which includes the World Twenty20 and an Ashes series against Australia Weve got a very crowded calendar this English summer Well carry on with that This the Stanford Super Series was always a tournament which wasnt in our budgets It doesnt impact on our budgetary structure and we know the game of cricket will continue After all weve successfully moved this Test match an unsafe outfield at the Vivian Richards Ground in Antigua saw the second Test abandoned and a new match now the third Test start at the islands older Recreation Ground Its going pretty well Clarke said Hopefully well win it and well take it from there