Fedex Cup points champion Vijay Singh of Fiji smiles as he holds the trophy after the conclusion of the Tour Championship golf tournament at
East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, September 28, 2008. REUTERS/Tami Chappell PACIFIC PALISADES, California (Reuters) – Former world number one Vijay Singh expressed astonishment on Wednesday as fallout from U.S. fraud charges against Texas billionaire Allen Stanford rippled across the globe. Stanford and two other top executives at Stanford Financial Group were accused on Tuesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of fraudulently selling $8 billion in high-yield certificates of deposit. Singh, a three-times major winner, has an endorsement deal with Stanford and is the global ambassador for a charity initiative on the PGA Tour created by Stanford Financial Group. “He has done so much for charity and St Jude is his big thing. He gives a lot to charity there and also to a lot of other places. I hope everything will be okay once they find out what's going on.” Singh, along with fellow players Camilo Villegas and Morgan Pressel, has heavily promoted the program and last year donated $300,000 to St. Jude for the eagles he personally carded on the 2008 Tour. ALL ASSUMPTION
Asked whether he had any concerns over his endorsement deal with Stanford, Singh replied: “We are assuming a lot. Nothing is guilty unless it is proven. It's all assumption at the moment and I have really nothing more I can say about it.”