SFO opens UK Madoff investigation

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Source: bbc

The Serious Fraud Office has said it is to open an inquiry into Bernard Madoff's business operations in the UK.

The investigation will focus on UK victims and any offences that may have been committed in the UK, the SFO said.

Mr Madoff is accused of running a fraudulent $50bn (£33.2bn) scheme that wiped out many investors.

The SFO has called for anyone who has had dealings with any of Mr Madoff's UK businesses - including ex-employees - to assist in the investigation.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7817584.stm

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1. The London connection

Revealed: Magic Madoff’s family ‘piggy bank’ in the heart of Mayfair
Keith Dovkants, London Evening Standard
16.12.08

SNIP:

Cut to a quiet corner of Mayfair and a set of offices over a smart art gallery. Here, in Berkeley Street, is the headquarters of the US investment veteran's London arm, Madoff Securities International. Compared with his huge Lipstick Building in midtown Manhattan, 12 Berkeley Street is a modest, discreet address. That's exactly how Madoff likes it. A source told the Standard that this anonymous base in Mayfair is Madoff's "dynastic piggy bank".

He kept around £80 million in cash in the London firm and used it to fund deals to benefit himself, his wife Ruth and sons Mark and Andrew. The Berkeley Street office is a trading operation, which, by the standards of Madoff's fraud, appears to handle modest sums.But by the standards of even wealthy families it is a powerful money-making tool, worked by a hand-picked staff of 28 including top analysts and investment specialists.

At their head is one of the City's most respected names, Stephen Raven. He was at home in Esher last Thursday night, where he lives with his wife Felicity, when he flicked on the Bloomberg business news and, to his astonishment, discovered Madoff, his old friend and business partner, was accused of being the biggest crook - in money terms - of all time.

Raven is described by his friends as "old school". He is 70 now, although he retains the matinee idol looks for which many in the City remember him. He had a distinguished career before joining Madoff. He was on the London Stock Exchange Council for 16 years, sat on the board at Warburgs and was a founding director of Liffe.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23602414-details/Revealed:+Magic+Madoffs+family+piggy+bank+in+the+heart+of+Mayfair/article.do

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2. Hey, maybe the British will do the honorable thing and jail this

bastard. I mean, how many laws can he break? He sent out millions in jewelry while out on bond, which his lawyer claims was an 'innocent mistake'.

Mistake my ass.

Hell, if I were to get a speeding ticket and not show up for court, they'd arrest my ass and keep me there until I went before a judge because I'd already be considered a 'risk' for not showing up. This guy, he gets to live at home, have all his possessions, access to the mails obviously, and he gets to thumb his nose at the rest of us.

What happened to 'with liberty and justice for ALL'?

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3. "White' collar crime is honored. The only white collar criminals who get

punished are those who are selected for token delusions and pretense.

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4. Yep, Bush set that benchmark with Enron's Ken Lay & Co.

Madoff is being treated like 'royalty' in NY.

Surprised his family wasn't given quickie exit visas out of the US like the Bin Laden family just after 9/11.