England cricket board suspends negotiations with Stanford after fraud charge

London, Feb 18 (ANI): The England and Wales Cricket Board has suspended relations with Antigua-based billionaire Sir Allen Stanford after US authorities have charged him with fraud.

A Dallas Federal court was asked to freeze Stanford's assets and his company was put in the hand of receivers after the Securities and Exchange Commission took drastic action following days of intense speculation about his company as US Marshals raided Stanford's office in Houston, The Telegraph reported.

"We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world," said Rose Romero, Director of the SEC's Fort Worth office.

The ECB reacted to the news that Allen Stanford had been charged with fraud in the USA with a statement saying it and the West Indies board had "suspended negotiations with Stanford and his financial corporation concerning a new sponsorship deal".

Speaking to journalists in Antigua, the ECB chairman Giles Clarke admitted that his organisation may have made an error of judgement in getting involved with Stanford, but added that they had so "with the best of intentions."

The SEC has been investigating Stanford for months and at the weekend it emerged the FBI were also examining the business practises of the Stanford International Bank.

The authorities in the United States have been heavily criticised for failing to clamp down on the actions of Bernie Madoff, the New York broker recently accused of a 50 billion dollars pyramid selling fraud. (ANI)