Leroy King, former head of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission, has been suspended due to links to financier Allen Stanford.
Antigua's Directorate of Offshore Gaming sits within Financial Services Regulatory Commission which Brown formerly headed, and regulates all online gambling operators licensed in Antigua Barbuda. Antigua Barbuda has become somewhat of online gambling hub worldwide, laying claim to being the first country to offer online gambling licenses, and remains today one of the largest (by operator numbers) licensing jurisdictions in the world.
It has been locked in a high profile case before the World Trade Organization with the United States Government or some time now, alleging America's UIGEA legislation and prohibitive approach to offshore online gambling is a violation to WTO free trade obligations. Antigua actually won their case before the WTO but the US has to date failed to recognize the ruling.
One fact that did however emerge during this protracted David and Goliath battle, was Leroy King's connection to billionaire philanthropist and now disgraced fraudster Allen Stanford.
It was revealed that King oversaw dummy audits of Stanford's Antigua Barbudan banks in exchange for thousands of dollars worth of bribes so that gaping irregularities in those accounts would not come to light. It's a damning finding that has done nothing to help Antigua & Barbuda's hard fought struggle to champion the legitimacy of its online gambling industry.
Kings suspension is effective immediately and The Cabinet of Antigua will decide what further action will be taken against him.
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