Sham audits, phoney financial statements and fabricated performance numbers were at the heart of the fraudulent scheme allegedly perpetrated by Sir Allen Stanford and his associates, according to US officials.

It was also alleged that the scheme was helped by a top regulator in Antigua, home of Stanford International Bank (SIB) - the institution at the epicentre of the alleged fraud - who "looked the other way" in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes, the use of Sir Allen's fleet of private jets for travel, and Super Bowl tickets.