ST JOHN?S, Antigua, CMC – Antiguan authorities have not received any formal request to extradite the country?s former chief financial regulator to the Unites States to face criminal charges, Attorney General Justin Simon said Wednesday.

Simon said the decision by the Baldwin Spencer Cabinet on Tuesday to fire Leroy King, who has been implicated by US authorities in an alleged US$7 billion fraud involving financier Sir Allen Stanford, was taken after considering a report from the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) into the actions of its Chief Executive Officer.

However, in an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) on Wednesday, Simon said St John?s had not received a request from Washington to have King extradited.

?No, that is not so. We have not yet received any request from the US authorities in respect to extradition,? he said. But he added that it was a matter that ?would certainly have to be seriously considered.

?There are the provisions of the law which would certainly have to be satisfied and followed. But the important consideration, I believe, that we need to take into account is the adverse effect that all of that has had and is having on our offshore industry,? Simon said.

He told CMC that the Cabinet agreed with the findings of the FSRC report that said King?s services as CEO should be terminated and that the decision would be formally communicated to King on Wednesday.

?Their report was based upon an internal investigation, which had been ongoing since the new board took office at the beginning of March of this year following general elections.

?Mr King had, at that time, been sent on leave because he had vacation due to him, and during that period the board did their investigations. They then called on him and?they questioned him on various matters which they were not satisfied with and his various responses they were not satisfied with and based upon that they made that recommendation to Cabinet.?

King was initially suspended last Friday after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said he helped the alleged multi-billion dollar scheme by ensuring that Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) ?looked the other? and conducted sham audits of the accounts of the Stanford International Bank.

The SEC alleged that in exchange, the Antigua-based regulator received bribes including money, free use of Sir Allen?s private jets, a corporate car and tickets to the 2004 Super Bowl in Houston.

The US prosecutors have also charged King with conspiracy to obstruct an SEC investigation.

The FSRC said that its own investigations had found that King had ?deliberately or negligently failed to inform the Board of various questionable decisions he had taken regarding the Stanford International Ban