UK appeals court gives asset control to Antiguan liquidators

One of the three appeal judges who heard the case, Justice Mary Arden, lamented that the dispute was a matter of “considerable regret”.(File photo)

LONDON, England, February 26, 2010 – The liquidators appointed in Antigua and Barbuda to recover Allen Stanford’s have won another round in their battle against their American counterpart.

The Court of Appeal in London yesterday upheld a ruling from the lower court that Nigel Hamilton-Smith and Peter Wastell should have control of £120 million (US$184 million) in Stanford assets in the UK.

The decision was a rejection of an appeal filed by US receiver Ralph Janvey after the High Court of Justice of England & Wales ruled, in July last year, that the Antiguan liquidators should be formally recognised in the UK as the party to whom control of the British assets of Stanford International Bank (SIB) – through which Allen Stanford allegedly committed his US$8 billion fraud – should be passed.

The two sides have been battling for control of money and property belonging to the fraud-accused on the heels of charges filed against him in February last year.

One of the three appeal judges who heard the case, Justice Mary Arden, lamented that the dispute was a matter of “considerable regret”.

“The lack of co-operation between them has greatly increased the costs,” she said.

In a statement issued earlier this month Hamilton-Smith and Wastell, Client Partners at British firm Vantis Business Recovery Services, said the two sides were working towards a co-operation agreement.

“In the US, several proactive and meaningful discussions have been held with the US receiver and his advisers, and the joint liquidators are hopeful that a working co-operation agreement can be established,” they said. “As such, an agreement will be subject to regulatory and judicial approval in both jurisdictions. A conclusion is unlikely before March 2010, but a successful co-operation of this kind will lead to a significant reduction in costs for the SIB creditors.”