According to the summary, 99.99 per cent of claims have now been determined - a total of 16,518. Of these, 2,443 (14.7 per cent) have been allowed and 16.63 per cent (2,703) have been denied. A further 66.45 per cent of claims, relating to third parties, have been denied.

The figures highlight the extent of the losses incurred by individuals and institutions from the biggest Ponzi scheme fraud in US history. 

Just under 1 per cent (153) of claims have been withdrawn, while for 12 cases (0.07 per cent) no claim has been determined. Allowed claims so far total $7.5 billion, with two cases remaining to be determined (0.01 per cent). Meanwhile, 229 cases (1.48 per cent) are in litigation.

At the beginning of August, the SIPA trustee sought approval for fees of $48.1 million for the period October 1, 2011 to January 31, 2012. For the roughly four-month period, the application is seeking approval for fees covering 134,431 hours of legal, professional and paraprofessional services, charged at $357.86 per hour.

At the same time, it emerged that the trustee was also trying to prevent the New York Attorney General from settling with a former Madoff investor, saying it would reduce the pool of assets left to customers of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities. The matter related to the Merkin funds, which invested in Madoff’s company, and against which the trustee has a proceeding trying to recover over $500 million.