Texan billionaire Allen Stanford has been charged in the US with fraud and obstruction.
Announcing the indictment, the justice department said it related to a multi-billion dollar scheme to defraud investors.
The 59-year-old turned himself in to the FBI in Virginia yesterday after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He already faces civil charges over an alleged fraud worth $8bn, which he denies.
His case is the first major financial crimes prosecution brought under the administration of President Barack Obama, who has vowed to crack down on economic malfeasance.
The civil charges, brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are that he fraudulently sold $8bn in certificates of deposit with improbably high interest rates from his Stanford International Bank Ltd, headquartered in Antigua.
A lawyer for Mr Stanford last night said: 'He surrendered. He's in FBI custody.'
Mr Stanford, who holds dual US and Antigua and Barbuda citizenship, denies any wrongdoing and has said he would put up 'the fight of my life' if indicted.
In its civil case, the SEC in February accused Mr Stanford, his college room-mate and three of their companies of carrying out a 'massive Ponzi scheme' over at least a decade and misappropriating at least $1.6bn of investors' money.
Mr Stanford, who was behind the high-profile Stanford Super Series Twenty20 cricket competition received a knighthood in 2006 from the governor-general of Antigua, where his company was the second largest employer.
