Look for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in Great Britain to level multiple charges against Bernard Madoff before the end of the year. Madoff's London connections are known to have played a significant role in his global Ponzi scam.
Under pressure to act, insiders at the SFO say that around $1 billion was transferred from Madoff in the States to Madoff Securities International in London. The SFO opened their file on that transfer in Januray. It is known that some of that money was then sent back to the States, giving the appearance of trading having taken place. Some of it also appears to have gone offshore, with Gibraltar being one of the known destinations.
It is also known that the month before Madoff got arrested, the London office paid out $2 million to his wife Ruth. Madoff International had a staff of 25. SFO interviews with them are focusing on "unwarranted payments to third parties.”
Although they are coming to the game much later than the Americans, the Brits are acting with uncharacteristic speed. Normally, investigations like this take years before anything ever happens.
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