Washington, Feb. 18: US regulators on Tuesday accused Texas magnate and top cricket promoter Allen Stanford of fraud in selling $9.2 billion in securities by promising "improbable and unsubstantiated" returns."

A US district judge froze Stanford’s assets after the Securities and Exchange Commission said he was involved in global "fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world."

Stanford’s wealth management and financial services group has offices across North America, Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean.

The SEC filed the civil charges against Stanford and other officials of his financial group in a federal court in Dallas.

It charged him and three of his companies with "orchestrating a fraudulent, multi-billion dollar investment scheme centering on an eight billion CD (certificate of deposit) program," a statement said.

The SEC also linked Stanford to an additional scheme relating to $1.2 billion in sales by SGC advisors of a mutual fund program.

— AFP