SFO drops fraud case against Madoff's UK arm
04 Feb 2010
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that it will not
continue its investigations into the UK arm of Bernard Madoff's
business dealings following a year-long review into the
businessman's empire and Ponzi Scheme.
Madoff Securities International, which is based in London, had
always strenuously denied having any links to the fraudulent
activity carried out by Madoff until his exposure in 2008.
Now, the SFO has announced that it has insufficient evidence to
prove that the UK arm was connected to this activity and that as a
result, it will drop the charges against it and its
directors.
However, investigations into feeder funds, some of which may be
based in the UK and which channelled investments to the fraudster,
will continue.
Madoff, 71, was sentenced in the US in 2008 to 150 years in prison
for defrauding investors of more than $65 billion (£38
billion).
Judge Denny Chin described the Ponzi scheme fraud as "staggering"
in scale and said it was the "biggest swindle in the history of
Wall Street".
Pamela Reddy, a partner at Hodge Jones & Allen LLP and a
specialist in serious fraud cases, commented: "Given the recent
economic climate, large scale 'Ponzi' frauds have been more
prevalent than they were previously.
"Hodge Jones & Allen LLP has a great deal of experience in
defending these cases. Successful defence of such allegations
requires an ability to absorb a mass of information and then find a
way through it as a result of thorough and proactive defence
work."
