N.J. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (and many Democrats) among potential fraud victims of Bernie Madoff

[KoKo]

(This is kind of sad because Madoff gave to many Democrats and supported so many charities and allowed so many charities to get earnings for good causes) :-( What the heck happened to this guy. Did he just "Flip Out?"
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N.J. Sen. Frank Lautenberg among potential fraud victims
by The Associated Press
Sunday December 14, 2008, 8:10 PM


On Friday, Griffinger told The Record of Bergen County that the bulk of the Lautenberg foundation assets -- nearly $14 million, according to 2006 filings -- was invested with Madoff.

Lautenberg is one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. Senate. His family foundation handed out more than $765,000 to at least 100 recipients in 2006, according to the most recent listing on Guidestar, which tracks charitable organization filings.

Donations listed on the foundation's required financial forms range from $350,000 to the New Jersey-based United Jewish Federation Metrowest to a $2,000 donation to Hackensack University Medical Center's Tomorrow's Children Fund.

In addition to managing money for Lautenberg's foundation, Madoff was also a contributor to New Jersey political campaigns.

An analysis of election filings by The Record found that Madoff and members of his family connected to his firm have donated more than $400,000 to federal candidates in New Jersey since 1986.

Donations include $2,000 toward Jon Corzine's 2000 U.S. Senate run, $8,000 to former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley in his 1999 campaign for president and $13,600 to Lautenberg's 2008 re-election campaign.

Speaking about Madoff's donation to Lautenberg, Mulhauser said, "We will be ridding ourselves of the contribution."

Lautenberg is among a growing list of prominent potential victims of the scheme in which Madoff allegedly took investments from one client to pay returns to another.

Those who have acknowledged potential losses so far include former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman, New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and J. Ezra Merkin, the chairman of GMAC Financial Services, among others.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/lautenberg_among_potential_fra.html

[KoKo]

1. European Banks Brace for Madoff Losses...More

By THOMAS CATAN, DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS and DANA CIMILLUCA

European banks, including Spain's Grupo Santander SA and France's BNP Paribas, said Sunday their clients and shareholders face billions of euros of losses on investments with Bernard Madoff, underscoring the global reach of the alleged Ponzi scheme run by the veteran New York money manager.

Santander, the eurozone's largest bank by market value, said its clients had an exposure of €2.33 billion ($3.1 billion) to Madoff's investment funds, mainly through its Optimal Strategic US Equity fund. More than €2 billion belongs to institutional investors and international clients of its private-banking business, which provides services to wealthy individuals, it said. The remaining €320 million belongs to private-banking customers in Spain, where Santander is based.

BNP, France's largest bank by market value, said it could lose as much as €350 million as a result of the alleged fraud. The bank said it has no investment of its own in the hedge funds managed by Bernard Madoff Investment Services. BNP Paribas, however, said it is exposed to these funds through its trading business and lending to hedge funds that had invested in Madoff's funds.

The losses could prove particularly embarrassing for banks' private-banking businesses, which charge high fees to wealthy investors in return for what is supposed to be superior advice and due diligence. Most of the European banks' exposures were on client investments they managed, rather than on the banks' own balance sheets. It's not yet clear how much, if anything, investors in Madoff's funds may be able to recover.

Santander, which has so far survived the global financial crisis relatively unscathed, said it had hired Madoff's firm to execute the Optimal fund's investments. Santander vowed to "undertake the legal actions which may be needed to defend the interests of investors." The bank said its own direct exposure was only €17 million.

Exposures to Madoff's funds have also emerged among a growing number of smaller European private banks. In a letter published on its website, the Swiss private bank Reichmuth & Co. said its clients had an exposure of some 385 million Swiss francs to Madoff funds. The bank said Reichmuth Matterhorn, a fund that invests in other hedge funds, faced a potential loss of about 8.6% on its exposure to Madoff. That amount represented about 3.5% of the 11 billion Swiss francs Reichmuth & Co. has under management, the bank said.

Another European bank, Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privee, has investment vehicles designed for wealthy individuals that invested in Mr. Madoff's funds, according to a person familiar with the matter. A UBP spokesman said the bank's clients have "limited" losses related to Madoff, but wouldn't be more specific or comment further.

Through private-banking networks, EIM Group, the European investment manager with about $11 billion in assets, had a number of non-U.S. investors into funds overseen by Mr. Madoff, according to people familiar with the matter. Overall, EIM assets at risk are less than 2% of what it manages, which means losses could top $200 million, according to a person familiar with the firm.

Swiss bank UBS AG has "very limited" direct exposure to the Madoff funds, according to a person familiar with the matter. But the Zurich-based bank's wealth-management arm helped clients in Europe and possibly elsewhere invest with Mr. Madoff, according to investment professionals in Europe who spoke with some of these clients. UBS is currently reviewing its clients' exposure to Mr. Madoff's funds, according to the person familiar with the matter. The person said the funds weren't on UBS's list of "recommended" investments for its U.S. clients, but that they may have been among the firm's suggested investments for overseas clients.

The Madoff debacle could pose another black eye for UBS's giant wealth-management business, which has suffered an exodus of clients as the bank has suffered heavy losses and become the target of a U.S. investigation into alleged tax evasion by its U.S. clients.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122928811909104885.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_mostpop