Monday, December 15, 2008

World's largest fraud


Here's the Grinch that stole Christams, along with everything else not nailed down, apparently, Bernard Madoff.


The list just keeps growing and growing and growing. Banks, hospitals, charitable organizations, none spared.


Unbelievable, that the fraud may lie in excess of $50 Billion!



Bernard Madoff: RBS and Man latest to reveal exposure to $50bn alleged fraud
Royal Bank of Scotland, the high street bank, and Man Group, the UK listed hedge fund, have become the latest to reveal exposure to Bernard Madoff's alleged $50bn fraud.
By Jamie Dunkley-Telegraph.co.uk

RBS said in a stock exchange announcement that should the value of Madoff's funds fall to zero, its potential loss will amount to about £400m.
It follows the revelation last week that the former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market had been arrested and charged with the alleged fraud. It could become the biggest-ever case of its kind. Mr Madoff ran a hedge fund which allegedly racked up $50bn (£33.5bn) of fraudulent losses.

Man Group said it had invested about $360m through its RMF institutional fund of funds business, representing 0.5pc of its total funds
Among the other's institutions affected is Spain's largest bank, Santander, which owns UK banks Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley. The bank said one of its funds had $3.1bn invested in the firm run by Bernard Madoff.

City “superwoman”, Nicola Horlick, whose Bramdean Alternatives portfolio had nearly £21m – or 9.5pc of its assets – invested with Mr Madoff, has launched a scathing attack on US financial regulators following the emergence of the alleged investment scam.

Ms Horlick said a “systemic failure” of American regulators seems to have allowed Mr Madoff to preside over the alleged swindle for years. “It is astonishing that this apparent fraud seems to have been continuing for so long, possibly for decades, while investors have continued to invest more money into the Madoff funds in good faith. The allegations appear to point to a systemic failure of the regulatory and securities markets regime in the US,” she said.

Here is list of the banks and financial institutions affected so far, according to company statements and agency reports:

Access International Advisors said some of its funds were invested with Bernard Madoff. The New York-based investment frim said it was working with counsel to assess the situation, describing it as "a shocking development".

Insurer Axa said that it faced losses because of the Madoff scandal, but said that its exposure amounted to less than €100m (£90m).

Spain's Banco Santander, which owns Abbey and Alliance and Leicester, said its hedge fund unit invested €2.33bn (£2bn) of client funds with Bernard Madoff.

The Geneva-based Banque Benedict Hentsch Fairfield Partners SA said its exposure is 56m Swiss francs (£32m) of client assets.

Spain's second-largest bank, BBVA, said it could potentially lose €300m (£270m) in the alleged scam run by New York trader Bernard Madoff.

Boston philanthropist Carl Shapiro’s charitable foundation - $145m (source Boston Globe).

Bramdean Alternatives Ltd - 9.5pc of its assets, according to a company statement.

BNP Paribas, France's biggest listed bank, said it could face a potential €350m (£313) loss from an exposure to Bernard Madoff's investment activities.

EIM Group - $230m (£153m) (source Reuters, citing Le Temps Newspaper).

Elise Wiesel Foundation for Humanity - undertermined ( source Wall Street Journal).

Fairfield Greenwich Group - $7.5bn, according to a company statement.
Fix Asset Management - $400m (£266m), according to a company statement.

GMAC chairman Jacob Ezra Merkin's Ascot Partners - Most of its $1.8bn (£1.2bn) of assets (Wall Street Journal).

Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services - $14.2m (£9.5m), according to a company statement.

HSBC is reported by the Financial Times to have a potential exposure of about $1bn (£688m) in loans provided to clients who invested about $500m of their own money in the venture.

Julian J. Levitt Foundation - $6m (£4m) (source Washington Post).

Kingate Management Ltd - $3.5bn (£2.3bn) (source Bloomberg).

Korea Life Insurance - $50m (£33m) (source Yonhap news).

Korea Teachers' Pension - $9.1m (£6m), according to a company statement.

Man Group said that its institutional fund of funds business RMF has approximately $360m (£239m) invested in two funds that are directly or indirectly sub-advised by Madoff Securities and for which Madoff Securities acts as broker/dealer executing the investment strategy.

Madoff Family Foundation - $19m (£13m) - (source Washington Post).

Maxam Capital Management - $280m (£186m) - (source Wall Street Journal).

Neue Privat Bank, a Zurich-based bank, said its clients may lose as much as $5m (£3m) invested in the fund linked to Bernard Madoff. The money was invested through Nomura Bank International, Neue Privat Bank said in a release.

New York Met's owner Fred Wilpon's Sterling Equities - undertermined, according to a company statement.

Nomura Holdings, Japan's largest brokerage, said it has 27.5 billion yen ($302 million) at risk linked to Bernard Madoff's investment funds

Norman Braman, former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles Football Team - undertermined (source Wall Street Journal).

North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System - $5m (£3.3m), according to a company statement.

Notz, Stucki & Cie - undertermined (source Reuters, citing Le Temps newspaper)

Pioneer Alternative Investments - almost all of its $280m (£187m) of assets (source Bloomberg).

Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation - $8m (£5.3m) (source Washington Post).

Royal Bank of Scotland said it had exposure through trading and collateralised lending to funds of hedge funds invested with Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities.If as a result of the alleged fraud the value of the assets of these hedge funds is nil, RBS's potential loss could amount to approximately £400m.

Reichmuth and Co’s Reichmuth Matterhorn fund - $330m (£221m) (source letter to clients).
Societe Generale - less than €10m, according to a company statement.

Tremont Capital Management - undertermined (source Wall Street Journal).

Yeshiva University - undetermined (source Washington Post)