And now, the unkindest cut of all…
An Antiguan panel has voted unanimously to strip Allen Stanford of his knighthood. The indicted Texas billionaire was said to have embarrassed the tiny Caribbean nation, where he had previously been the largest private employer.
A spokeswomen for the National Honors Committee of Antigua and Barbuda told the AP: “It’s not that we’re saying he’s guilty, but it’s the honor that has been brought into disrepute.”
Stanford faces charges of orchestrating a $7 billion Ponzi scheme by selling bogus certificates of deposits through his company, the Stanford Financial Group. He is currently in a Texas prison.
Investors are suing Antigua and Barbuda for failing to protect them from Stanford’s alleged fraud. The country had welcomed Stanford to its shores, and government officials appear to have aided his efforts to build his financial empire.