Barclays Bank recommended that wealthy clients should pour money into Bernard Madoff’s funds, describing the $50 billion Ponzi scheme as an “attractive opportunity”.
From the Sunday Times:
Barclays Bank recommended that wealthy clients should pour money into Bernard Madoff’s funds, describing the $50 billion Ponzi scheme as an “attractive opportunity”.
Barclays told investors it had subjected Madoff’s funds to its “comprehensive due diligence programme”, adding that it would “complement” other investments.
Details of the endorsement of Madoff’s scheme are contained in a letter written by Kevin Lecocq, chief investment officer at Barclays Wealth, the bank’s private client arm. The letter, written in December 2008 to justify the bank’s actions, is one of masses of documents being assembled by British investors planning to sue UK banks and fund managers over investment advice.
Lecocq said: “Having submitted Fairfield and Madoff to our comprehensive due diligence programme, we concluded that this fund was an attractive opportunity for our clients.
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