(Reuters) – Three banks have agreed to pay $1.35 billion to resolve litigation accusing them of contributing to imprisoned Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford’s fraud.
Canada’s Toronto-Dominion Bank will pay $1.205 billion, HSBC Holdings Plc will pay $40 million and Independent Bank, formerly known as Bank of Houston, will pay $100 million.
The settlements avert a trial that had been scheduled to begin on Monday in Houston federal court.
Money will go to a court-appointed receiver who is repaying victims of Stanford’s $7.2 billion fraud, which was uncovered in Feb. 2009, two months after the arrest of Bernard Madoff.
Two other banks, Societe Generale and Trustmark Corp reached settlements of $157 million and $100 million earlier this year.
The latest settlements boost the total payout by banks to $1.6 billion.
“Given all the challenges faced by the receivership since 2009, this is nothing short of a monumental recovery,” said Kevin Sadler, a Baker Botts partner who represents the receiver Ralph Janvey and the Official Stanford Investors Committee.
TD denied liability and said it acted properly at all times, but settled to avoid the distraction and the uncertainty of continuing to litigate.
HSBC and Independent Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; editing by Arun Koyyur and Jason Neely)
