Some mutual fund assets released in Stanford case

HOUSTON, (Reuters) – Mutual funds that are not held  in custodial Stanford Finan-cial Group accounts should be  released from a court-ordered asset freeze, an attorney  overseeing the company’s affairs and assets said in a  statement on Monday.

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission  charged Texas billionaire Allen Stanford with fraudulently  selling $8 billion in certificates of deposit with improbably  high interest rates from his Stanford International Bank, which  is based in Antigua.

Allen Stanford
Allen Stanford

A receiver, attorney Ralph Janvey, was appointed by the   U.S. District Court in Dallas, Texas, and he froze some of the  company’s assets.

Janvey urged U.S. politicians on Monday to return to  investors any donations that were made by Stanford.

A statement on the receiver’s website,  http://stanfordfinancialreceivership.com/documents/Press_Stateme  nt_022309.pdf, said that mutual fund assets held outside  Stanford’s custodial relationships with Pershing LLC and J.P.  Morgan Clearing Corp should be released.

Investors, some of whom have their life savings in Stanford  accounts, are growing increasingly anxious about their  investments since the receiver froze them last week.

One investor, Texas attorney Trent Rosenthal, filed a  lawsuit on Friday asking a federal judge to dissolve the order  freezing assets that put him and thousands of others into  financial limbo.
A hearing on the freeze order is scheduled for on March 2.

Letters were sent to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign  Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee,  the fund-raising arms of the parties.

“If you have already donated such amounts to a charity, we  request you consider donating an equal amount to the  Receivership Estate,” the letters from Janvey said.

Last week, U.S. lawmakers and President Barack Obama vowed  to donate to charity the campaign donations they received from  Stanford.

During the past decade, Stanford’s company spent $4.8  million on lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive  Politics, a private group that tracks money and politics in the  nation’s capital.