Wanted Robert Allen Stanford Venezuela bound

Wanted Robert Allen Stanford is now a fugitive and SEC officials don't look any likelier to get their man than his investors do to get their money back, Felix Salmon writes in Portfolio. Regulators have been sniffing around his operations for long enough to ensure he's got a contingency plan already in action, probably involving that missing $8 billion and one of his multiple private jets, Salmon notes. Stanford has likely stashed his cash in one or several of his banking operations in many jurisdictions beyond the arm of US law. The spotlight is currently on Antigua, Salmon notes, but it's more likely Stanford is preparing for a life of luxury somewhere with an "ask-no-questions private-banking industry and a vague-to-nonexistent extradition treaty with the US.Venezuela's top banking regulator says Stanford Bank is healthy in the country despite fraud allegations elsewhere that led U.S. authorities to shut down offices and freeze assets.Venezuela's superintendent of banks, Edgar Hernandez Behrens, said Stanford Bank Venezuela is in fine shape and that "the situation is normal." He was seeking to reassure Venezuelan depositors who panicked at the news of fraud allegations and sought to withdraw funds.Hernandez said Wednesday that Stanford Bank Venezuela is not affiliated with Stanford Bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua, where some fraud accusations have centered.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has shut down Stanford Bank, owned by Texas billionaire