Argentines lost up to $700 mln in Madoff scandal - Lists of Madoff Investors

Argentines lost up to $700 mln in Madoff scandal
Fri Feb 6, 2009 10:52pm
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Argentine investors lost up to $700 million by investing with Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street money manager accused of running a worldwide investment fraud, lawyers for the victims said on Friday.

Local law firm Estudio Borda Abogados estimated the losses in a study conducted with Spanish and U.S. firms.

Madoff, who was arrested by U.S. authorities in December, had attracted a global clientele to his money management business through his reputation for posting amazingly consistent returns that prosecutors now say were bogus.

"The amount that we have estimated in terms of victims in Argentina is between $500 million and $700 million," Guillermo Borda, head of the Buenos Aires-based law firm told Reuters. "The names of the victims are confidential."

In the United States the list of people who invested with Madoff includes celebrities such as TV talk show host Larry King, actor John Malkovich and Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax, according to documents filed in a bankruptcy court this week.

Madoff has estimated losses of $50 billion from the alleged scheme, U.S. authorities say.

Local media have reported that many Argentines invested in the Madoff fund through local branches of Spain's Banco Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research). Santander in Madrid has moved to compensate some clients affected by the Madoff fraud.

Borda said Argentines who believe they were defrauded will try to recover funds through the financial institutions that acted as middlemen between investors and Madoff, or by legal action targeting Madoff himself.

Madoff customers can also try to recover funds through the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a U.S. nonprofit group that has has set a July 2 deadline for investors to file claims.
Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market who was a force on Wall Street for nearly 50 years, is accused of running a long-standing Ponzi scheme, illegally taking money from new investors to pay existing investors. Such schemes typically fall apart when new funds dry up.

(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein and additional reporting by Martha Graybow in New York; Editing by Kenneth Barry