Verbal decision from Montreal Superior Court in relation to control of assets in Canada

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Joint Liquidators of SIB, Nigel Hamilton-Smith and Peter Wastell, wish to advise that a verbal judgment from the Montreal Superior Court, Canada, issued on 11 September 2009, concluded that Ralph Janvey, the Receiver appointed by the United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission, be formally recognised as the party to whom control of the Canadian assets should be passed.

The Joint Liquidators confirmed that, contrary to allegations made, all copies taken of the data were to international forensic standards and their actions have at all times been in accordance with the terms of the order of the High Court of Antigua and Barbuda under which they were appointed, including taking steps to ensure that client data is kept confidential.

Commenting on the judgment, Nigel Hamilton-Smith, Client Partner at Vantis Business Recovery Services and Joint Liquidator of SIB, says:

"We fully anticipate appealing this decision and will be closely studying the judgment with our legal counsel. It is hoped that the Court of Appeal in Canada will have an opportunity to fully consider all the relevant legal issues."

“Despite this recent judgment, legal proceedings issued by the Attorney General in Ontario, Canada, are continuing for control of the same assets located in Canada. This follows a request from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that the assets be passed to the DOJ as proceeds of crime.”

The Joint Liquidators are already recognised in United Kingdom as the party to whom control of the assets of SIB should be passed. Legal proceedings continue in the US and Switzerland for the control of the assets of SIB, and the Joint Liquidators remain committed to communicating accurate and timely information for the benefit of all SIB investors located in a number of jurisdictions across the world.

The recently developed Online Claims Management System provides investors with a cost efficient and secure method of registering their claims against SIB online. Since the site went live in July 2009, 17,000 SIB investors have accessed the service. Once registered, investors are able to monitor the status of their claim and receive updates directly from the Joint Liquidators on the progress of the liquidation.

Investors may register their claims against SIB by visiting https://stanford.vantisplc.com/

Stanford Trust Company Limited (STC) remains in receivership and is not currently in a position to formally agree claims with its clients and creditors. The liquidators of SIB are, however, aware of the position of STC, and its clients and creditors, and know that STC’s clients’ claims will be formally registered with SIB in due course.

Further communications will be issued when practicable.

For further information, SIB and STC investors and creditors should visit www.vantisplc.com/Stanford or email stanfordenquiries@vantisplc.com

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Vantis Business Recovery Services is a trading division of Vantis Group Ltd, which is regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for a range of investment business activities. Vantis Group Ltd is a Vantis plc group company.

AIM listed Vantis plc is a leading UK accounting, tax and business recovery and advisory group.

For more information about Vantis, visit www.vantisplc.com