US court rules that Stanford investors can keep funds

A United States federal appeals court has ruled that hundreds of investors can keep the millions of dollars they put into disgraced Texas Financier, Sir Allen Stanford\'s alleged US$7 billion Ponzi scheme.



The Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that while Stanford\'s certificates of deposit, CD’s at his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank may have been phony, the investors had legitimate ownership of the money in their accounts.

The court said the investors’ initial principal and the interest can\'t be taken from them.



Its decision upholds a July lower-court ruling that blocks the court-appointed receiver, Ralph Janvey from recovering principal returned to some investors from the CDs.



The three-judge panel ruled that the district court lacked authority to freeze the investor defendants’ assets.



The freeze was imposed after the US Securities and Exchange Commission the financial services regulatory body, sued Stanford in February.