No Stanford indictment before May

By Anna Driver

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Allen Stanford, the Texas financier facing civil charges for a massive fraud, will not likely be indicted before the end of April, one of his lawyers said on Thursday, the same day receivers in Antigua said his offshore bank faced a serious shortfall.

A federal indictment of the Texas billionaire is not likely before the end of April, Dick DeGuerin, a Houston criminal attorney working for Stanford, told Reuters. "But an indictment shouldn't come at all," he said

Stanford, three of his companies and two top aides are accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of running an $8 billion (5.6 billion pounds) Ponzi scheme involving high-yield certificates of deposit issued by his bank in Antigua.

DeGuerin said he expected any criminal charges to be filed in Houston, so Stanford is in the process of moving there.

"We are negotiating on a lease for a condo," DeGuerin said, adding that his client is eager to answer any charges.

Also on Thursday, the receivers in charge of Stanford's operations in Antigua said they are liquidating Stanford International Bank, which is deep in the red.

"It quickly became apparent that there were a large number of investors seeking to withdraw funds and the bank's cash reserves were wholly inadequate," Nigel Hamilton-Smith, the bank's receiver, said in a statement. "It is also now apparent that the assets of SIB are insufficient to meet the level of liabilities."

The liquidators said they are unable to forecast the extent of the bank's deficit at this time, but it is likely to be substantial.