UPDATE 1-Stanford asks for removal of Baker Botts lawyers
(Adds comment from Baker Botts)
HOUSTON, June 16 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Allen Stanford, the Texas financier accused of a massive swindle, on Tuesday asked a federal judge to remove lawyers from the Baker Botts LLP firm from the civil fraud case, citing a conflict of interest.
The law firm represented Stanford and his father from 1985 to 1987 and helped set up Stanford International Bank, the offshore bank U.S. regulators say are at the heart of an $8.5 billion fraud, according to court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas.
"Baker Botts' flagrant violation of its duty of loyalty to the Stanford defendants warrants its immediate disqualification from the instant litigation," court papers said.
Baker Botts, the Houston law firm of former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, is working for Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed lawyer overseeing the operations of Stanford's businesses.
"We did not represent anyone in the formation of Stanford International Bank," a spokesman for Baker Botts said. "We did represent a related party briefly from October 1985 to February 1986 regarding doing business in the Caribbean, generally."
The firm's work involved two meetings and a total of five and half hours of time, with fees totaling $850, the spokesman said, adding there is no conflict of interest.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Stanford and two of his colleagues of a scheme related to certificates of deposit issued by Stanford's offshore bank, which was first located on the island of Montserrat under another name.
Stanford has denied any wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by Richard Chang, Bernard Orr)
