Former Stanford International Bank Ltd Chief Financial Officer James Davis plans to enter a guilty plea to federal charges as early as next week, his lawyer said on Monday.

Davis faces 30 years in prison on conspiracy and obstruction charges related to an alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme involving certificates of deposit issued by the offshore bank in Antigua.

Davis will plead guilty to all the charges, his lawyer, David Finn, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley during a bond hearing.

We've already signed a plea agreement, Finn said.

Bank founder R. Allen Stanford is in federal custody as his attorneys ask the U.S. court of appeals in New Orleans to overturn a U.S. judge's ruling that he is a flight risk who should remain in jail through his trial.

Botley set bond for Davis on Monday at $500,000.

Davis' testimony could bolster the federal government's case against Stanford.

This thing was smoke and mirrors and duct tape for at least the last 15 years, Finn said about Stanford International Bank in a press conference outside the courthouse following the hearing.

Davis appeared in court on Monday looking very thin and wearing a dark blue suit. Finn said he had lost weight during the investigation into the bank's activities.

(Reporting by Anna Driver; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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