A court filing showed that the Libyan government invested $500 million in Sir Allen Stanford, Chairman of Stanford Financial Group. Stanford is currently on trial for fraud after allegedly operating a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.
Allen apparently met with Abdulhafid Zlitni, a secretary of planning for the Libyan government in 2008. He then flew his private jet to Tripoli on January 25 of this year to meet with Mohamad Layas, the chief executive of the Libyan Investment Authority. In January, the Libyan government was considering increasing the amount of cash reserves it would invest with the Texas financier.
The news came a day after Stanford lashed out at federal prosecutors, saying that his constitutional rights were being deprived during his trial. Stanford argued that he could not gather a defense after his bank accounts were frozen.
Dick DeGuerin, Stanfords attorney said, “The government’s unfettered, and thus far successful, attempts to prevent Mr. Stanford from being able to mount a defense in his criminal proceedings amount to a deprivation of both his Sixth Amendment right to counsel and his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.”
Judge David Godbey denied Stanford’s request to release $10 million for legal fees, saying Stanford had “not shown that he has $10 million dollars, or any lesser amount, in personal assets untainted by potential fraud.”
