Bernie Madoff Victims' Recovery Rises to Nearly $10.5bn

The trustee recovering money for jailed fraudster Bernard Madoff's victims has announced two more agreements that will help recover over $145m.

New York lawyer Irving Picard, the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee tasked with reimbursing duped investors victims said on 18 November that he reached a $95m (£61m, €76m) settlement with Senator Fund SPC. The deal is subject to court approval.

Senator is a Cayman Islands "feeder fund" that had invested customer money exclusively with Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities.

Picard also said a federal bankruptcy judge had approved a separate settlement worth at least $50.5m with defendants including New York-based property developer Edward Blumenfeld, Reuters reported.

That settlement could eventually be worth some $62.1m, according to Picard and court papers.

$10.5bn Recovered

Tuesday's deal boosted the total amount recovered to nearly $10.5bn, roughly 60% of the $17.5bn in principal Picard said was lost by Madoff's former customers.

Picard has thus far distributed nearly $6bn.

Tuesday's deals followed a $496.8m settlement announced on 17 November with two other Cayman Islands investment funds, Herald and Primeo.

Madoff Victim Fund

Former US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden manages the US justice department's $4.05bn Madoff Victim Fund, created to compensate customers and third parties who lost money.

Breeden received more than 51,700 claims from 119 countries, including Kazakhstan, Madagascar and Vietnam, at the close of the claim period on 30 April.

That figure was more than three times the number of claims filed during the Madoff bankruptcy proceedings.

Madoff, 76, pleaded guilty to fraud in 2009, following his arrest in December 2008, and was sentenced to 150 years in prison for controlling the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.