US diplomats stationed in the Caribbean voiced doubts as early as May, 2006 about the bona fides of now-imprisoned Texan billionaire Allen Stanford to the extent that Washington’s top envoy in Bridgetown avoided any photo opportunities with him.
This was evident in a cable released via WikiLeaks and emanating from the US Embassy in Barbados May, 3rd, 2006.
Stanford who became wildly popular in the Caribbean after staging a T20 festival and inaugurating a cricketing Hall of Fame was indicted in US courts on June 19, 2009. He was accused of, among other things, running a Ponzi scheme by offering high rates on certificates of deposits in the Caribbean. A lot of the money mobilizing in the Caribbean seemed to rely on the goodwill generated by his cricketing involvement.
The WikiLeaks cable released today by the UK Guardian revealed