Madoff wants to keep €54m
Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff wants to keep a Manhattan penthouse and other assets worth €54m, claiming they are not linked to his multi-billion dollar fraud.
Madoff claims they belong to his wife Ruth.
A court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff’s assets has said the apartment and other property used to secure bail was off limits for now. But if there is a conviction, those assets and possibly property of Madoff “insiders” could be seized to help pay claims by alleged victims, which so far total about $1bn (€792,000).
The information was contained in an order of consent asking a judge to grant the federal government authority to seize assets involved in any fraud.
Nearly $950m (€752.6m) in cash and securities has been recovered for investors so far.
The 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman has been confined to the Manhattan apartment, purchased in 1984, under house arrest since early December.
He was arrested and charged with securities fraud after authorities said in court papers that he confessed to his sons that he had carried out a giant Ponzi scheme for years, using new money from investors to pay off early investors while bogus statements claimed consistent investment gains.
