$ 150 million refund in case of grand fraud

Switzerland on Monday announced a refund of $ 150 million in seized funds in one of the most spectacular fraud cases in the United States, an amount that would be used to compensate victims of Texan Con artist Robert Allen Stanford.

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The Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice (OFJ) said in a press release, “Entry into the United States is possible on the strength of the conviction of American businessman Alan Stanford for fraud.”

“By the end of December 2020, OFJ will return the remaining $ 150 million to the US authorities in favor of the injured parties, with the first installments already paid”, all treatment has ended.

Between 2001 and 2008, American businessman Alan Stanford defrauded thousands of investors thanks to the pyramid scheme for a grand total of more than seven billion dollars.

In 2012 he was sentenced to 110 years in prison in the United States.

The process in Switzerland was opened in 2009, as Swiss authorities believed that part of the money withdrawn from the United States could be found in Switzerland.

In February 2009, a criminal investigation was opened against Texans, two American allies and Swiss society.

As part of mutual legal aid, Switzerland had provided US officials with banking documents and bank employee hearing minutes for proceedings in the United States.

Alan Stanford was convicted of defrauding some 30,000 investors from over 100 countries by selling fictitious financial products with extraordinary returns.

The system consisted in depositing the first investors, without the actual value deposited from subsequent investors. Stanford was nicknamed the “little Madoff” in reference to Bernard Madoff, another 200-year prison sentence by another famous American crook in 2009 for having pumped over $ 65 billion according to the same principles of the pyramid or Ponzi scheme. Was heard. .