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Venezuelan government takes control of Stanford Bank

Other News Materials 20 February 2009 08:36 (UTC +04:00)

The government has taken control of Stanford Bank Venezuela and will sell it immediately, Venezuelan Economy and Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said Thursday.
The government took the action after the bank's owner, Robert Allen Stanford, was accused by the U.S. of defrauding investors, Xinhua reported.
Rodriguez said some groups have shown interest in buying the bank, which has 15 branches in Venezuela.
The minister called on the public to maintain confidence in the country's financial system which he said is separate from the Stanford Bank scandal.
The minister also pledged that the government will make efforts to protect depositors at the bank.
Stanford on Tuesday was charged in the United States with "massive fraud" related to Stanford International Bank and his Houston-based broker-dealer and investment units.
Stanford Bank manages 0.2 percent of the public deposits in Venezuela and has affiliates in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Authorities in other Latin American countries have also taken action against Stanford businesses. Ecuador seized two local units of the group on Thursday. 

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