Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire and cricket enthusiast accused of an $8 billion fraud, said that he expected to be indicted by US authorities in the next two weeks.

In an interview with ABC News, details of which were released last night, the financier also denied running a Ponzi scheme. “I would die and go to hell if it’s a Ponzi scheme,” said Mr Stanford, who cried during the interview, according to the television network. "Baloney. Baloney. It's not a Ponzi scheme. If it was a Ponzi scheme, why are they finding billions and billions of dollars all over the place?” he added.

Mr Stanford, a flamboyant cricket fan who spent millions of dollars sponsoring the sport, is accused of running a Ponzi scheme, whereby he paid existing investors’ returns with money from new clients using high-yield certificates of deposit issued by his bank in Antigua.

Yesterday, a UK court froze more than $100 million (£67 million) of assets belonging to Stanford International Bank (SIB), the Antigua-based financial group controlled by Mr Stanford, at the request of the US Government.

The High Court in London granted a freezing order on SIB’s UK assets after a request from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American financial regulator, which has accused Mr Stanford of running a $9.2 billion fraud.

The assets, frozen until April 27, are held in five accounts in the private banking arm of Credit Suisse in London. The $105 million is held in cash and US and Swiss shares as well as investments in unnamed hedge funds, according to court papers. SIB did not contest the freezing order, which can be extended at a further hearing.

The SEC has filed civil charges against Mr Stanford, two of his top aides and three of his companies.

The SEC has been targeting Mr Stanford’s personal assets and those of his companies since it first charged him with fraud on February 16.

The SEC claims Mr Stanford took $1.6 billion in personal loans from his companies. He has denied the charges.

SIB did not have a London office, although its research was distributed by Blue Oak Capital, a City broker.

In February it emerged that the accountant auditing Mr Stanford’s global banking empire carried out her duties from an office in North London.

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