Texas billionaire Allen Stanford has surrendered to authorities and will face criminal charges on Friday tied to an alleged massive fraud involving certificates of deposit issued by his Antigua bank, his lawyer said.

The 59-year-old golf and cricket promoter gave himself up in Virginia on Thursday and will appear in court on Friday morning, but the venue is unclear, Dick DeGuerin, Stanford's Texas attorney, told Reuters by telephone.

He surrendered, DeGuerin said after speaking with Stanford, who had been staying with his girlfriend in Fredericksburg, about 50 miles south of Washington. He's in FBI custody.

The Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.

It was not yet clear what criminal charges he faces. According to the Houston Chronicle, a grand jury weighing the charges against Stanford returned a sealed indictment earlier on Thursday.

Stanford already faces civil charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he fraudulently sold $8 billion in certificates of deposit with improbably high interest rates from his Stanford International Bank Ltd (SIB), headquartered in Antigua.

(Reporting by Chris Baltimore; editing by Paul Simao)

Criminal Law