No more ‘Sir’ for Allen Stanford

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, November 3, 2009 – Sir Allen Stanford, now in prison and awaiting trial on massive fraud charges, will soon be stripped of the knighthood which the Antigua and Barbuda government bestowed on him three years ago.
 
It’s the first time a national honour is being revoked in this twin-island nation.
 
Dr Jacqui Quinn-Leandro, Chairperson of the National Honours Committee which decides on who is granted honours, said a unanimous decision was recently taken to revoke the knighthood which was given under the former Antigua Labour Party (ALP) administration.
 
The six-member committee which made the decision is comprised of both parliamentarians and Senators from the ruling United Progressive Party (UPP) and the opposition ALP.
 
“We’ve heard the cries of the general public about the honour being brought into disrepute. We wrote to the governor general through the prime minister, recommending that the order be revoked for Sir Allen Stanford,” Dr Quinn-Leandro told the radio station.
 
However, she did not say when it would take effect.
 
Although the former billionaire has not been convicted of any charges, his alleged US$8 billion fraud has affected Antigua and Barbuda’s reputation.
 
The matter has also seen the country becoming a target for those who pumped money into the Stanford International Bank (SIB) in Antigua where the fraud was allegedly committed.
The administration is facing a lawsuit filed by some of those investors who want compensation for the losses they incurred. They have claimed that the Antigua and Barbuda government was complicit in the fraud and benefited from it and should therefore be held accountable to those who lost out.
 
The Stanford Victims Coalition, based in the US, has also been appealing to American legislators to help them block a loan which the island is seeking from the International Monetary Fund.

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