The Genevan authorities accused the partners - Laurent Mathysen-Gerst, Vladimir Stepczynski, Pascal Cattaneo, Olivier Ador and Jean-Marc Wenger – of seeking to enrich themselves by investing in Madoff-related funds. One of the funds, the Hermes World Fund, had all of its $800 million of assets invested with Mr Madoff, the report said, adding that Hermes was partly controlled by Aurelia Finance.

According to the report, around 30 of Aurelia’s clients filed a criminal complaint saying they had lost over $30 million, that the partners in question had ignored the principles of asset diversification and that Hermes had taken inflated commissions on their assets of 3-4 per cent. The partners allegedly shared more than $25 million in commissions since 2007, the paper said, citing judicial sources.

Mr Mathysen-Gerst, Aurelia’s founder was reported to have denied the allegations, saying that the firm had not received retrocessions from Mr Madoff and that Hermes’ 2 per cent annual management fee was the same as that carried by all Aurelia’s funds.

He added that he himself had been a victim of Mr Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, losing several millions, and that Aurelia would be suing the US Securities and Exchange Commission, HSBC, Hermes’ custodian bank and its auditor, Ernst & Young.

Aurelia did not immediately respond to enquiries from WealthBriefing on the matter. 

In other developments, Le Temps reported that Genevan asset management firm Notz, Stucki & Cie has offered to pay around $120 million to clients who suffered Madoff-related losses.

The firm is understood to have invested close to $740 million with Mr Madoff through two of its funds.