Some 15,000 Venezuelans now regret their decision to invest in the “improbably” high-yielding dollar-denominated certificates of deposits offered by Stanford International Bank as family fortunes and retirement savings are feared to have been wiped out.

Up to three-quarters of the $8bn of allegedly fraudulently sold certificates of deposits were sold in Latin America, a region with a long history of political and financial turmoil. Venezuelans were, by far, the biggest buyers, holding as much as $3bn.

Mr Chávez’s “Bolivarian revolution” has been accompanied by one of the highest inflation rates in the world – far outstripping savings rates – as well as ongoing fears of devaluation and expropriation of private property, driving hordes of middle and upper-class Venezuelans to seek ways of protecting their assets abroad. In spite of currency controls in place since 2003, capital flight in Venezuela averages about $10bn a year.

But while the bulk of SIB’s clients in Venezuela are believed to be well-heeled Venezuelans safeguarding their money from Mr Chávez’s revolution, a significant number of its customers are government and military officials, some high-ranking, according to people familiar with the bank’s operations.

Indeed, according to radio reports in Antigua, a Venezuelan jet carrying senior government officials arrived on the island last week for a meeting with the island’s prime minister.

Observers questioned whether they were attempting to prevent information on deposits from being discovered. “The Stanford affair could be embarrassing for the government, particularly if the client list emerges,” said Orlando Ochoa, a Caracas-based economist.

He explained that, not only did having an account at SIB enable depositors to flout Venezuela’s capital controls, but bank information could expose corruption that is widely regarded as an endemic problem in Venezuela, with the bank possibly used as a destination for funds obtained illicitly by officials.

“The government will try to close the matter quickly without disclosing much information,” added Mr Ochoa, following the state seizure of the Antigua-based bank’s operations in Venezuela last week.

SIB’s rapid growth in Venezuela, while other companies were reducing their exposure as Mr Chávez deepened his socialist project, mirrored the expansion of the banking system as a whole.

In part, thanks to huge profit to be obtained through exchange rate arbitrage – dollars on the black market are currently worth more than 2.5 times the official rate – Venezuelan banks have flourished in recent years, with the financial sector more than tripling in size in the past five years.

As well as enticing rates of return, the common attraction for SIB’s clients was the ease of opening an account.

“Financial culture is very low here – people buy products if you have a fancy office, not if you have a healthy balance sheet,” said Miguel Octavio, executive director of Caracas-based BBO Financial Services.

SIB even roped in prominent Venezuelans to act as board members to lend an air of respectability.