Swiss-Based Private Banks Sued By Madoff Trustee In NYC

Swiss-based Julius Baer and Falcon Private Bank have been sued by the trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff’s former investment firm who is seeking to recover a total of $76 million in redemptions, Bloomberg reported.

Trustee Irving Picard filed two adversary lawsuits yesterday in a New York court, seeking a return of funds that were transferred to the two Swiss banks by investors in Fairfield Sentry, a feeder fund for Madoff’s firm. The trustee seeks about $37 million from Julius Baer and about $39 million from Falcon, the report said.

Madoff, who pleaded guilty to fraud charges, is serving 150 years in prison for the largest Ponzi scheme in US history. Investors lost about $19 billion in principal, Picard has said. Fairfield is in liquidation in the British Virgin Islands. Picard has filed similar lawsuits to recover investments taken out of Madoff’s firm before the fraud was exposed.

The scale of the losses and the nature of Madoff’s offences have forced private banks, and other financial institutions, to examine their controls and due diligence processes in ensuring client money is not handed over to criminals or investors promising unrealistic returns.

Julius Baer declined to comment when contacted by this publication; Falcon said it has not been informed of any such claims as mentioned in the story.

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