Canadian regulators check out Stanford Financial's Montreal office

Canadian authorities are looking into the Montreal connection to Stanford Financial Group, the banking institution in the middle of an $8-billion fraud investigation by U.S. authorities.

This week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil fraud charges against Texas financier R. Allen Stanford and two senior executives.

Stanford was found in Virginia on Thursday and served with legal papers in a multi-billion-dollar fraud case.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said FBI agents, acting at the request of the SEC, served Stanford the papers in Fredericksburg, Va., while he was sitting in a car.

Stanford is not under arrest and is not in custody. Officials said it is not believed he was purposely hiding from authorities.

The SEC is accusing Stanford and the two other execs of luring investors with promises of "improbable and unsubstantiated" returns on certificates of deposit and other investments.

Stanford Group's global empire reaches more than 100 countries, with a single Canadian operation in an office building high above McGill College Street in downtown Montreal.

Quebec's securities regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers, as well as the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions have started examining what kind of business Stanford Group has been doing in Canada.

According to federal officials, the Montreal office was permitted only to market the company's services, and it was not allowed to accept any deposits for the bank itself.

The head of the Montreal office, Alain Lapointe, refused to comment when contacted by CBC News.

Alleged fraud has wide reach

The fraud allegedly involved the sale of $8 billion in certificates of deposit from Stanford's Antiguan affiliate, Stanford International Bank Ltd.

Many details about the alleged fraud remain unclear, but the SEC maintains there was a pattern of secrecy, including a failure to disclose the bank's exposure to losses in money manager Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme.

Since the charges were laid, the company's assets have been frozen.

On Thursday, Peru and Venezuela became the latest countries to suspend operations at Stanford Group banks in their countries.

Cricket players 1st to feel effect in Canada

While it is not yet clear whether any Canadian investors have been affected by the problems with the Stanford Group, some Canadian cricket players are feeling the consequences.

Stanford Group officials had offered to fund an all-star cricket tournament involving teams from Quebec and Ontario later this year. Now organizers expect the tournament will be called off.

"Essentially, it's not happening as far as I know," said Hugh Brodie, the former president of the Pirates of the St. Lawrence Cricket Club, located in the Montreal area.

"I can't conceive it proceeding when there are so many bigger things to think about. I hadn't heard anything formally, but I would be absolutely astonished if it proceeded."

Allen Stanford has been a long-time supporter of the game of cricket, funding tournaments and facilities around the world, primarily in the West Indies.