SFO froze Stanford’s $100m

Investigators at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) have frozen $100m of Allen Stanford’s assets in London since he was taken into FBI custody, the SFO revealed.

It responded to a formal request from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), to freeze the assets “held at certain London financial institutions”.

These funds were allegedly acquired in connection with a suspected $7bn investment fraud scheme operated by Stanford.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and City of London Police also assisted the US DOJ in their earlier inquiries.

SFO Director Richard Alderman said: "I am delighted that the SFO has been able to secure a freezing order of this magnitude and within five hours of it being requested. I am determined that supporting our US counterparts in this way becomes a routine example of cross-border cooperation"