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Jul 3, 2009 12:11 pm US/Central
Attorney: Stanford Layoffs Looming In Antigua
ANIKA KENTISH, Associated Press Writer
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) ―
More layoffs for islanders who work for R. Allen Stanford's crippled tropical business empire are likely by the end of July, an attorney for the indicted Texas financier said Thursday.
Hugh Marshall Jr. said managers at Stanford's Antigua companies have been told that the island businesses need massive restructuring in hopes they might emerge as leaner companies that can deal with the continued fallout of an alleged $7 billion offshore investment swindle.
"The object is to keep the companies alive and operating. The question is how," Marshall said Thursday. He would not say how many employees might be kept on, or how many have already been dismissed.
Antigua has been trying to contain damage to the local economy as U.S. investigators probe the alleged fraud. Stanford was indicted last month on charges that his banking empire was really just a Ponzi scheme built on lies and bribery.
U.S. prosecutors allege that Stanford and six others — including Antigua's former finance regulator — misused most of the $7 billion they advised clients to invest in certificates of deposit from the Stanford International Bank in Antigua.
Stanford's Antigua enterprises also include a newspaper, two restaurants, a development company and the Stanford cricket grounds, where he shook up professional cricket last year by bankrolling the purse in a $20 million winner-take-all match.
Thursday's edition of the Stanford-owned Antigua Sun said the company would undergo a major restructuring by July 31. Specifics were not disclosed.
Shortly after the fraud allegations emerged, about 1,000 U.S. workers for the Stanford Financial Group were laid off by order of the investment company's court-appointed receiver.
The order affected about 85 percent of Stanford's U.S. employees, although the receivership said most of Stanford's business and operations would be wound down.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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