Legal
Spanish Authorities Investigate Santander Madoff Connection – Report
The Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor is investigating Santander
Bank in relation to its exposure to more than €2.3 billion (just
over $3 billion) of client money with the alleged
US conman Bernard Madoff, according to the Wall Street
Journal.
The report said the authorities will examine the relationship
between
Santander, investment fund Fairfield Greenwich Group and Mr
Madoff. The investigators are reportedly looking into why
Santander chairman Emilio Botin dispatched his head of risk
management to see Mr Madoff not long before the latter’s arrest
and whether Santander officials knew of the problem.
Some investors are asserting that
Fairfield
Greenwich - whose clients stand to lose a reported $7.5 billion -
and its executives "failed to manage properly their investments
and to carry out necessary due diligence that would have
uncovered the massive Ponzi scheme."
