Willis played “instrumental role” and “supplied proof”
Venezuelan investor Reinaldo Ranni has sued Willis over the collapse of the Stanford banking empire, saying he relied on assurances from Willis that Stanford was sound, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit, filed as a class action in US federal court in Miami, accused Willis of fraud, negligence, misrepresentation and violations of US and Florida securities laws.
A similar lawsuit was filed against Willis in federal court in Dallas earlier this month by a group of Mexican investors.
Instrumental role
Willis "played an instrumental role in enabling Allen Stanford and his companies to perpetrate a massive multi-billion dollar fraud against scores of investors, largely Venezuelans and other South Americans," the lawsuit said.
"Willis supplied the proof for Stanford," the lawsuit said, by issuing "safety and soundness" letters to Stanford agents.
"The letter proclaimed SIB's employees to be first class business people and claimed that SIB had undergone a stringent Risk Management Review by an outside audit firm," the suit said. "None of it was true."
Willis declined to comment.
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