Lloyd’s of London must pay the legal fees of Allen Stanford, accused of operating a $7 billion Ponzi scheme to defraud investors.

A U.S. federal judge issued the order Jan. 26, according to Reuters, following a suit by Stanford and three other defendants against the insurer, which stopped providing coverage last year under a directors and officers policy, citing a money laundering exclusion.

Stanford and his Texas-based firm, Stanford Financial Group, are at the center of a 21-count federal indictment alleging a scheme to defraud hundreds of investors. Stanford is in prison awaiting a trial scheduled to start in early 2011.

In his order, U.S. District Judge David Hittner said that without access to the funds contracted with Stanford’s firm, the plaintiffs “will be unable to mount the defense required in such complex cases as the criminal action and the SEC action,” according to the report.

Lloyd’s has 10 days from the issuance of Hittner’s orders to pay all costs and expenses.

In addition to Stanford, his firm’s former chief investment officer Laura Holt and former accounting executives Gilbert Lopez and Mark Kuhrt also face charges in the case. All three have denied any wrongdoing, according to Reuters.