HOUSTON (Bloomberg) — The receiver in the US Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit against R. Allen Stanford asked a federal judge to approve the sale of a yacht, the Sea Eagle, which the financier bought in 1998 for $3.9 million.

"The yacht requires a 24/7 crew aboard for insurance qualification, continuous air conditioning and water service and costs the receiver over $25,000 per month just to keep it in dock," lawyers for Ralph Janvey, the Dallas attorney appointed to run Stanford's businesses, told US District Judge David Godbey in a filing yesterday.

Janvey's lawyers told the court they negotiated a so-called stalking horse agreement to sell the 112-foot Sea Eagle as is to a buyer identified as "Neil Helliwell, Dubai, UAE", for $2.5 million, subject to better offers.

The SEC sued Stanford, two associates and three of his businesses in February, accusing them of operating a $7 billion fraud scheme centred on the sale of certificates of deposit through Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.

The Texas financier and his co-defendants are accused of lying to investors about the nature and oversight of the securities. Stanford has denied those allegations as well as criminal charges handed up in June by a federal grand jury in Houston.

Stanford is being held without bail pending a trial that might not be held for one year.

Ruth Brewer Schuster, the lead attorney for Stanford's civil-defense team, didn't immediately return voice-mail or e-mail messages seeking comment after regular business hours.

On September 17, Schuster filed papers opposing Janvey's proposal to sell a smaller Stanford boat, dubbed the Little Eagle, for $150,000.

That boat, Schuster said in a court filing, is an "untainted asset" because Stanford bought it before, according to the SEC, he began his fraud. She also argued that a sale of the boat or any other Stanford asset shouldn't occur until after the case is resolved on its merits.

Godbey hasn't ruled on Janvey's request for approval of sales procedures for the smaller craft.

Janvey today asked the court to approve procedures for the sale of the Sea Eagle, including the retention of the Ardell Yacht Brokerage, which has offices in Newport Beach, California, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to handle the transaction. Those procedures also provide for a payment of 3 percent of the final purchase price to the stalking horse bidder, if the boat is sold to someone else.

A winning bid must be at least $250,000 more than that of the Dubai purchase price or any offer that surpasses it, according to Janvey's lawyers.