The accountant responsible for auditing Allen Stanford's international banking empire carries out her duties in her spare time. Celia Hewlett-Ola's main job is in the accounts department at the Royal College of Art, in Knightsbridge, Central London.
Mrs Hewlett-Ola, 46, of Palmers Green, North London, said yesterday that she had been surprised by the allegations that Mr Stanford was responsible for a $9.2 billion (£6.4 billion) fraud. She admitted that she had not had time to study Mr Stanford's financial documents at length.
She took control of the accountancy firm of CAS Hewlett & Co after the death of her father, who had checked Mr Stanford's accounts for the past decade. Charlesworth Hewlett died last month at the age of 73.
American financial regulators have questioned why such a small firm was used to audit a business that claimed to control more than $50 billion of assets. They have claimed that Mr Stanford's main business was a "massive ongoing fraud" and that many of its financial figures were exaggerated.
Mrs Hewlett-Ola said that she had received no request from the American or British authorities to help to untangle the mystery surrounding Mr Stanford's web of companies. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mrs Hewlett-Ola.
"All of this has come as a complete surprise," she said. "I don't know anything and have nothing to do with the fraud. I have never had dealings with Mr Stanford, although my deceased father, the founder and owner of CAS Hewlett & Co, had dealings with him.
"I had nothing to do with my father and Stanford's arrangements. I have never worked for them so I don't know anything about it."
Mrs Hewlett-Ola is a member of the Association of International Accountants, based in Newcastle. She is currently on unpaid compassionate leave.
Her father gave Stanford International Bank an unqualified audit opinion in signing off its annual report last April. Mrs Hewlett-Ola said that she did not know whether the firm would continue as the bank's auditor.
"I am doing it to help my family as any daughter would," she said. "I am helping but I am not in charge. We don't know if we are going to continue with Mr Stanford's business. There are no papers here. All the papers are in Antigua."
Eugene Parry, office manager for the firm in Antigua, said: "We are in a transition period. Everything is being handled out of London. I'm not too sure what is happening with existing clients."
Charlesworth Hewlett and his wife, Delvine, 69, lived in a £500,000 home in Enfield, North London. Until about four years ago Mr Hewlett worked at a two-room office above a hair saloon in Enfield before transferring the business operations to his home.
Outlining the civil case against Mr Stanford, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said: "The commission attempted several times to contact Hewlett by telephone. No one ever answered."
The Serious Fraud Office in London said yesterday that it was monitoring the situation around Mr Stanford and was liaising with other authorities but that it had not yet started a formal investigation.
Although Mr Stanford's businesses do not appear to have any offices in Britain it has become clear that they have been attempting to attract wealthy British customers.
A City stockbroker and investment house has confirmed that it had a deal to distribute research by a Stanford-owned company.
Jonathan Evans, of Blue Oak Capital, said: "Nothing ever came of it, the whole thing was a complete waste of time. That's why at the end of last year we stopped."
The scandal surrounding Mr Stanford emerged as his European subsidiary was planning to open a London office.
Jack Stanley, president of Stanford Group (Suisse) AG, based in Zurich, said last year that the group planned to extend its European operation. "We are currently looking to open offices in London, the region's other great financial centre," he said.
The subsidiary has recruited a number of influential British bankers to sell products to wealthy clients.
There is no allegation of wrongdoing against the bank's employees. The SEC has said that Mr Stanford and two senior executives carefully concealed their fraud from employees.
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