LONDON - BRITAIN'S Serious Fraud Office said on Thursday it would investigate the UK business operations of Bernard Madoff, raising the prospect that the alleged Wall Street fraudster could face criminal charges here.
The fraud office, which is liaising with its US counterparts, said its investigation would focus on British victims and 'any criminal offenses that might have been committed in the UK' Fraud office director Richard Alderman said the inquire showed the agency's 'new, faster approach to tackling fraud' in London's huge financial sector.
'The public say they want us to take early action, and this is what we are doing,' he said in a statement. 'We will work closely with other law enforcement agencies to discover the truth behind the collapse of these huge financial structures.'
The fraud office said it would speak with ex-employees of Madoff's interests in Britain, and called on investors or other stakeholders to come forward.
Madoff, 70, was arrested Dec 11 on securities fraud charges alleging he duped investors out of as much as US$50 billion (S$74 billion) in a giant Ponzi scheme. The former Nasdaq chairman is under house arrest in Manhattan, New York, and his assets have been frozen.
Thousands of investors lost money in the scheme, including Hollywood celebrities, hedge funds, international banks and charities.
A prominent French financier who had entrusted his fortune and his clients' money to Madoff was found dead on Dec 23 at his New York office, an apparent suicide. -- AP
