...charged for multibillion US dollar fraud - WICB halts sponsorship talks
February 18, 2009
Texan billionaire and cricket promoter Sir Allen Stanford was yesterday charged over a US$8-billion investment fraud.
Stanford, who has been living in Antigua for years, bankrolled the Twenty20 Super Series cricket competition in the West Indies over the last two years, including a one-off match between a regional all-stars team and the English national team for a US$20-million prize.
The 58-year-old had pledged US$100 million to West Indies cricket over five years and US$200,000 to individual territories.
According to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Stanford had promised to invest US$6 million into regional cricket between 2008 and 2012 with US$2 million paid last year.
"We have a strategic plan which is built around cricket develop-ment, including a cricket academy that will link all the territories with a unified approach and standardised curriculum," Dr Julian R. Hunte, WICB president, declared last year as he signed the agreement.
"The bulk of the new funds will go towards ensuring that we increase the number of young people playing cricket and improve the standard to the point where we achieve and maintain our goal of being at the pinnacle of world cricket by 2012."
Stanford employed West Indies cricketing greats, including Sir Viv Richards, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Everton Weekes and Jamaica's Courtney Walsh, as ambassadors for his series.
However, last December Stanforddisbanded his group of legends and announced a review of his participation in West Indies cricket.
Yesterday, as news broke that he had been charged, the WICB and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reacted with a joint statement saying they had "suspended negotiations with Stanford and his financial corporation concerning a new sponsorship deal".
Locally, Paul Campbell, president of the Jamaica Cricket Association, declined to comment on matters relating to the legal troubles facing Stanford, but admitted the loss of the Twenty20 series would be a blow for the region.
"It created a hype and heightened enthusiasm for the game while providing added incentives and opportunities for the players," Campbell said. "No doubt, if it should go, it would leave a void that we would have to find other events to fill."...
Author: Arthur Hall
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
