Stanford flies in to face justice

Cricket entrepreneur and suspected fraudster Allen Stanford was due in Texas today to face federal charges he ran a €5bn swindle with his international banking empire.

A federal grand jury in Houston has indicted Stanford and six executives of Stanford Financial Group, accusing them of orchestrating the massive fraud by advising clients to buy certificates of deposit from the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank.

Stanford ,59, was arrested on Thursday in Virginia.

A police source said that he was being taken by US Marshals to Houston.

Stanford already faces civil charges brought by US regulators over an allegedly fraudulent €5.6bn certificate of deposit scheme and a separate €815m investment vehicle.