6
[International
Herald Tribune, France]
Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien, France
Probes Begin into Madoff's Fleecing of the French
"Between 3,000
and 5,000 French citizens were swindled by the American financier. … The worst
is that most of these people don't know, because their money has been deposited
in funds contaminated by the swindle farther down the line … Some of them may
never know, because their banks will discretely compensate them."
By Laurent Valdiguié
Translated
L. McKenzie Zeiss
March 22, 2009
France
- Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien - Original Article (French)
Three preliminary investigations into the funds
of Bernie Madoff have been launched by the prosecutor's office in Paris. One is
looking into BNP Paribas.
In total, between 3,000 and 5,000 French citizens were swindled by the American
financier. And according to the Financial Markets Authority [l'autorité des marchés financiers] which
has disclosed the figures to plaintiffs' attorneys, a number of the cheated
investors have yet to be informed of their financial losses …
How many French have lost money in the $50 billion scam of
the century? According to estimates by the Financial Markets Authority,
between, "3,000 and 5,000 people in France" may have lost their
savings. "The worst is that most of these people don't know it yet, because
their money, which is managed by the banks, has been deposited in funds contaminated
by the swindle farther down the line," explains a specialist on the case. "Some
of them may never know, because their banks will discretely compensate them,"
he added. At the Financial Markets
Authority and the Paris prosecutor's office, the case is being closely monitored
and "regular meetings" are being held on the affair.
So far, only a dozen people have filed criminal complaints with
the Paris prosecutor's office. A first group of seven investors is suing LuxAlpha
Sicav, a Luxembourg mutual fund
which was managed by the Union Bank of Switzerland [UBS]. The first
preliminary inquiry opened by prosecutor of Paris, Jean-Claude Marin, is targeting
LuxAlpha, which has also been brought before courts in Luxembourg for a number
of civil proceedings. "With Bernard Madoff, LuxAlpha lost about €1.5 billion - about half
of which came from France," explains Jean Reinhart, one of the lawyers who
filed the complaint. That is to say, the French had to swallow about €750 million in losses. "We
hope that UBS, which manages this fund in Luxembourg, will bear the losses,"
the lawyer explained.
ODDLY-WORDED SUBSCRIPTION FORMS
According to our information, the second inquiry following a
complaint by Olivier Metzner on behalf of one of his clients, is targeted specifically
at BNP Paribas. The
lawyer suspects the bank of having signed up with LuxAlpha Sicav through the
use of some oddly-worded subscription forms. "On paper, no one will ever
recover the money from Madoff himself - even though he's the one who squandered
it all," explained a legal source. "On the other hand, if it can be
demonstrated that banks or financial institutions committed the slightest error
in feeding the funds to Madoff, the victims may be able to focus their
attention on them in the hopes of recovering their marbles."
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
UNKNOWING VICTIMS
Clearly, if BNP, which created LuxAlpha before ceding its
management to UBS in 2004, committed the slightest irregularity, clients who feel
aggrieved could turn against it. This is the purpose of the complaint of "forgery
and use of false documents" filed by Mr. Metzner. "This complaint is
completely beside the point and is based on nothing but obscure procedural grounds,"
said a BNP spokesperson. "We have in no way advised anyone to invest with
Madoff," the spokesperson continued, adding that BNP "plans to file
its own complaint in return for this false accusation."
The third investigation opened by the prosecutor's office targets
a Parisian financial consulting firm. A retailer, via this company, placed $2
million - all of his savings - into a hedge fund called Kingate Management located
in Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands.
"Madoff was behind it," explains Julien Visconti,
the retailer's lawyer. "My client placed the money with them in 2006, and they
promised him a return of 10 to 15 percent a year. He never saw a penny."
The lawyer has filed a complaint for "illegal professional
conduct by a financial counselor." He suspects that the consulting firm never
obtained the necessary approval of the Financial
Markets Authority, which is required for investing funds in a tax haven.
In all three cases, the Financial Crime Squad [Brigade financière] is scheduled
to conduct its own investigations in the coming weeks, "with the possibility,"
an investigating officer noted, "of discovering lists of unknowing victims
along the way." The Madoff affair has begun …
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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 22, 6:14pm]
