French prosecutors probe Madoff scandal
French prosecutors probe Madoff scandal
PARIS (AFP) — Paris prosecutors on Tuesday opened a fraud investigation into the Madoff scandal, after a French woman filed suit over the loss of her life savings, judicial officials said Tuesday.
The 66-year-old woman from Paris, who filed a lawsuit in Paris earlier this month, had invested 540,000 euros (707,000 dollars) in a fund linked to the alleged Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff.
She placed her money with the Luxembourg-based Lux Alpha fund run by Swiss bank UBS, which bought assets from Madoff.
The state prosecutors' office opened a preliminary investigation for fraud and breach of trust, in the first case in the Madoff scandal to come before a French court, officials said.
The plaintiff alleges that UBS turned over her funds to Madoff and showed no interest in how they were managed, although her lawyer argues UBS could not have been unaware of the risks.
Luxembourg authorities last week ordered UBS Luxembourg to compensate a French brokerage, Oddo et Cie, for 30 million euros invested in Lux Alpha.
Madoff, a financial advisor and former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, was arrested on December 11 after allegedly confessing to running a 50-billion-dollar pyramid fraud.
According to France's market regulator, French savers stand to lose as much as 500 million euros in connection with the scandal.
A dozen French investors have also taken fast-track action in civil courts against several banks -- including BNP Paribas, HSBC Private Banking France and Rothschild -- who invested their money with Madoff via Lux Alpha.
They are seeking a ruling on the nature of their participation in the fund, which would allow them to take legal action directly against UBS.
Votes:26
Comments: 0