The flamboyant Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford has pleaded not guilty to charges that he orchestrated a $7 billion fraud at his financial empire, media reports said.

Prosecutors alleged he masterminded the fraud at his Stanford Financial group of companies, taking money from investors who thought they were buying high yielding savings products.

The alleged fraud came to light months after the massive Ponzi scheme of US investment figure, Bernard Madoff, was uncovered. The Madoff saga has rocked the wealth management industry, raising questions about the level of due diligence firms must carry out on behalf of their clients.

The magistrate set a date of 25 August for the trial of Sir Allen and his four co-defendants – who all also pleaded not guilty – to begin.