On the hunt for $1B in Madoff assets in Ireland - Hunting for Assets -Madoff assets hidden

On the hunt for $1B in Madoff assets in Ireland
BY ANTHONY M. DESTEFANO | anthony.destefano@newsday.com
7:34 PM EST, February 12, 2009
The special U.S. trustee trying to find assets linked to Bernard Madoff will be getting involved in the hunt in Ireland for more than $1 billion in investments which may have flowed from feeder funds to the accused Wall Street scammer.

In papers filed late Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan, trustee Irving Picard said he plans to hire lawyers in Dublin to get involved in lawsuits brewing over Madoff money.

Last month three investment funds -- Thema International Fund Plc, AA (Alternative Advantage) Plc and Fortis Prime Fund Solutions -- filed separate suits in Dublin's High Court in an attempt to recoup the cash. Thema and AA sued HSBC Institutional Trust Services Limited of Ireland, while Fortis sued HSBC Securities Services of Ireland and Defender Limited, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands, court records show. The suits reportedly are seeking recovery of $1.2 billion.

"We were asked by the High Court to retain counsel so that we could participate," said a spokesman for Picard, who is seeking to retain Barry O'Neill, a Dublin solicitor who specializes in insolvency and commercial litigation.

The Irish cases relate "to certain monies" that the investment funds, part of a large group of so-called feeder funds, believe HSBC is holding that arose out of Madoff's business, Picard said in his court filing. Officials at HSBC and Defender couldn't be reached late yesterday.

Thema has been linked in an unrelated federal lawsuit in Manhattan to Bank Medici, the boutique Viennese merchant bank owned by Sonja Kohn. Clients of Kohn have reportedly lost billions of dollars in the Madoff debacle. Austria took over the bank in early January.

Lawsuits in Ireland are among several that have erupted in Europe in the wake of the Madoff scandal, which involves suspected Ponzi scheme losses of $50 billion.

Picard, who was appointed as trustee to protect investors under American law, said he needs the help of Irish attorneys to do his job. Picard told Newsday through a spokesman that he would hire lawyers to get involved in court cases in Switzerland and Luxembourg if needed.

Last week, Fortis reportedly secured an injunction in the High Court, which directed HSBC to disclose the whereabouts of more than $33 million and secured an injunction to guard against any moving of the money.

It was unclear how much of the money involved in the Irish lawsuits actually remains in the accounts. Last week, Picard disclosed that he had accounted for more than $943 million in funds in accounts of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities Llc and hoped to begin paying back customers by July. The money Picard has found so far comes from various bank accounts, as well as stocks and securities held by depository institutions.