Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Search
Search:
Madoff: the 'big lie' that got bigger and bigger
AFP - 1 hour 23 minutes ago
NEW YORK, Dec 21, 2008 (AFP) - - When Bernard Madoff allegedly admitted that his investment company was a "big lie," few realized just how big -- and even now, as reports of damage spread, no one is quite sure.
The alleged multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme revealed with Madoff's arrest December 11 may be the biggest in Wall Street history.
Already the scandal has sent shockwaves through Madoff's ex-clients worldwide and underlined systemic problems at the heart of the US financial industry and the government agency meant to watch over it.
As the investigation enters its second week, no one can tell where the damage will end.
The list of victims is already staggering, ranging from a charity run by Hollywood mogul Steven Spielberg to Japanese bank Nomura and European banks, where exposure ran into the billions of dollars.
Prosecutors allege that Madoff has confessed to losing upward of 50 billion dollars over years of running a pyramid scheme, where new investors were secretly fleeced to pay returns to existing investors.
What investigators don't know is where all that money went. This will be one of the main focuses this week, as victims clamor for compensation.
Other key questions include whether Madoff acted alone, and why the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to nail his alleged scam.
There were numerous red flags, not least the eerily consistent returns he provided investors and the bizarre fact that accounting for the huge enterprise was handled by a three-person office at an obscure firm outside New York.
Not only this, but the SEC actually opened an enquiry in 2006, following explicit accusations by a rival investor to Madoff, yet dropped the matter shortly after.
"I am gravely concerned by the apparent multiple failures over at least a decade to thoroughly investigate these allegations," SEC chairman Christopher Cox said.
The probe will "include all staff contact and relationships with the Madoff family and firm, and their impact, if any, on decisions by staff regarding the firm," he said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, SEC investigators will be looking into Madoff's niece and a former SEC official she married in 2007.
The actions of Madoff's family members are an integral part of the extraordinary drama.
According to prosecutors, the affair first came to light when Madoff bared all to select employees. The Wall Street Journal says these were in fact Madoff's two sons.
But just a week later, Madoff was apparently unable to rely even on his sons for help.
Madoff, former pillar of Wall Street, former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market and a mainstay of the powerful American Jewish community, had been required by the court to sign up four bail guarantors.
He could only find two -- his wife and brother.
Following that humiliation, a court ordered Madoff to wear an electronic tag and to remain confined to his seven-million-dollar Manhattan apartment.
The mess has soured a public already disgusted with Wall Street as the source of the rotten practices that brought down a string of financial institutions in September.
In some quarters on the Internet that anger has emerged as crude anti-Semitism that the Anti-Defamation League on Friday called "deeply offensive."
"Jews are always a convenient scapegoat in times of crisis, but the Madoff scandal and the fact that so many of the defrauded investors are Jewish has created a perfect storm for the anti-Semites," said Abraham Foxman, ADL national director.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Business
Oman c.bank says cuts reserve requirement to 5 pctReuters - 43 minutes ago
Obama signals major shift in US trade policyAFP - 54 minutes ago
Kuwait earns $4.6 bln in Nov, lowest in 8 monthsReuters - 1 hour 19 minutes ago
Madoff: the 'big lie' that got bigger and biggerAFP - 1 hour 22 minutes ago
Bahrain November inflation holds above 4 pctReuters - 1 hour 38 minutes ago
Enlarge Photo
Madoff: the 'big lie' that got bigger and bigger
Most Popular – Business
Viewed
Global economy seen sinking into 'severe' 2009 recession: report
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Oil prices mixed; New York contract expires below 34 dollars
Let poor eat caviar: Milan authorities
German Christmas cake theft sparks data scare
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular