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Peer blames Madoff fraud on regulators
Paul Henderson13 Mar 2009
A London peer who fell victim to Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff today blamed US regulators for their failures.
Lord Jacobs, the ex-joint treasurer of the Liberal Democrat party, said the US Securities and Exchange Commission could have saved billions if it had acted on information years ago claiming Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme, a fraudulent operation that pays returns to investors from their own money.
Lord Jacobs of Belgravia, who lost several million of his estimated £128 million fortune, said: “I want to concentrate on the terrible regulators who could have saved the livelihoods of many victims if they had acted as far back as 1999 and certainly in 2006. The regulators were given overwhelming evidence and did nothing.”
Madoff is behind bars today in New York after admitting the £47 billion fraud involving hundreds of investors.
Reader views (6)
The problem was cause by lack of oversight. The two biggest offenders were entities we call Fanny Mae and Freddie Mack. Representative Barney Frank led the charge to prevent oversight. He was assisted by the people to whom Freddie and Fanny gave the most money. Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd and (gasp) Barak Obama. The press does not want Obama's complicity known and will not make this FACT known to the public!!!
- Ray, gurnee, USA, 14/03/2009 15:35
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Madoff contributed heavily to the Democrats. He probabley
thought they would cover his backside.
- Jetmpls, MplsMn USA, 14/03/2009 13:31
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What's the difference with Madoff paying off current investors with monies from future investors and Oboma paying off the current "poor" with monies from taxes from people not yet born? I guess Oboma's ponzi scheme has a lot more zeros attached.
- Frank, ex-England, 14/03/2009 11:19
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Truly, Britain is the "Wild West" now. A shudderingly ugly place where only crime pays and law-abiding poverty is punished; where wrongdoers have nothing to fear from non-existent law-enforcement and knife-wielding, gun-toting teenage thugs roam the streets at will. Its motto - "Stay-home - you'll live longer...!"
Civilization, this ain't...!! I want to go and live in France...!!!
- Joanna Jay, Walton on Thames, 13/03/2009 15:01
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Somebody else always has to be to blame when greedy fools make appalingly bad decisions. Any organisation offering interest rates far, far above what anyone else is, should be treated with extreme scepticism. At least Madoff only fleeced the obscenely wealthy, who if they handed over all of their assets, only have themselves to blame
- Lmd, North London, 13/03/2009 14:09
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So it was nothing to do with Lord Jacobs being attracted by the promise of a 46% return. Presumably earlier investors got some of their capital back in the form of bogus dividends, so their loss is not so great as reported.
- Mdj E10, london uk, 13/03/2009 12:16
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