It may be cold comfort to those who lost fortunes investing in the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff, but at least they have some high-profile names they can share a tear-stained hankie with, not to mention some of Europe’s biggest banks.
Morning Call: December 15
Investigators dug through financial records at Bernard Madoff’s investment firm as the list of victims of his alleged Ponzi scheme widened to include real-estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, the foundation of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, Sen. Frank Lautenberg and a charity of movie director Steven Spielberg.
The scandal reverberated around the world, with banks including Spain’s Grupo Santander and France’s BNP Paribas saying on Sunday that their clients and shareholders together face billions of euros of losses.
Monday morning in Tokyo, Nomura Holdings Inc. said its exposure to investments with Mr. Madoff totaled 27.5 billion yen ($302 million). A spokesman described the firm’s potential losses as “limited.”
At Mr. Madoff’s office in midtown Manhattan, guards have been positioned 24 hours a day. Investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are trying to identify if any assets remain, a person familiar with the matter said.
Trader Daily � Madoff’s Ailing A-List