Sir Allen Stanford was pumping $15,000 dollars a month into Bermuda cricket right up until he was charged in connection with a massive $8bn Madoff-style fraud.

The money was paid to the Bermuda Cricket Board as part of Stanford's commitment to the 19 teams that signed up to play in his 20/20 competition

In all the billionaire is believed to have ploughed nearly half-a-million dollars into the game on the Island since January 2006.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint yesterday against Stanford and three of his companies, alleging that about $8 billion of so-called certificates of deposit were sold to investors by promising "improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates".

"We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world," said Rose Romero, regional director of the SEC's Fort Worth, Texas, office.

So far the Bermuda Cricket Board has declined to comment on the situation, but, according to the BCB's annual report in 2007 they received $213, 489 from Stanford in 2006, and $145,000 in 2007. The figure for 2007 was lower because an additional $100,000 was included in 2006 as part of the agreement to join the inaugural Stanford 20/20 Tournament that year, and payment was suspended in November 2007 and only resumed in March of last year.

A statement released by Stanford in May 2008 following the resumption of the funding said: "A decision was taken by the Board to suspend the funding as a result of a lack of accountability by some of the territorial boards.

"At the Stanford 20/20 Board Meeting in March 2008 a decision was taken by the Board to resume funding by way of a restructured disbursement scheme in order to ensure a higher level of accountability."

Although there are currently no official records for 2008, it is estimated that the BCB recieved around $135,000 for that year, and was continuing to receive money until very recently.

Uncertainty now surrounds the future of all Stanford's cricket projects, which include the Stanford 20/20 Tournament, the matches between the West Indies and England, and a new domestic Twenty20 competition in England.

While his Stanford Financial Group sponsors other sports and athletes, Stanford's personal passion is for Twenty20, the most condensed form of international cricket that is usually over within three hours.

He bankrolled a winner-take-all $20 million Twenty20 match in November between England and a West Indies all-star team in Antigua, the first of five planned annual games worth a total $100 million.

The all-stars won on the richest payday in cricket, which each of the 11 players collecting $1 million. The remainder was split between the reserve players and staff and national cricket associations.

"Following allegations made today ... the England and Wales Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board have suspended negotiations with Sir Allen Stanford and his financial corporation concerning a new sponsorship deal," the ECB said in a statement.

If Stanford's financial support for cricket ended, it would have a big impact on the game in the Caribbean and England.

Stanford, whose Houston office was raided yesterday, was planning to provide financial backing to more Twenty20 competitions, including an annual tournament at Lord's starting in 2010 and the English Premier League starting the same year.

According to Forbes, he's the 605th richest man in the world, worth US$2 billion, and holds Antigua citizenship and a home in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.

He's also an honorary knight, an honor normally given to British and some Commonwealth citizens by Queen Elizabeth II. He was knighted by the government of Antigua and Barbuda in 2006.