Believe it or not – French investigations into the crimes of Bernie Madoff are just getting under way. This account from France’s Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien into what French prosecutors have uncovered so far contains some interesting details.
For Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien, Laurent Valdiguie relates in part:
“Between 3,000 and 5,000 French citizens were swindled by the American financier. … The worst is that most of these people don’t know, because their money has been deposited in funds contaminated by the swindle farther down the line … Some of them may never know, because their banks will discretely compensate them.”
By Laurent Valdiguié
Translated L. McKenzie Zeiss
March 22, 2009
France – Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien – Original Article (French)
Three preliminary investigations into the funds of Bernie Madoff have been launched by the prosecutor’s office in Paris. One is looking into BNP Paribas. In total, between 3,000 and 5,000 French citizens were swindled by the American financier. And according to the Financial Markets Authority [l’autorité des marchés financiers] which has disclosed the figures to plaintiffs’ attorneys, a number of the cheated investors have yet to be informed of their financial losses …
How many French have lost money in the $50 billion scam of the century? According to estimates by the Financial Markets Authority, between, “3,000 and 5,000 people in France” may have lost their savings. “The worst is that most of these people don’t know it yet, because their money, which is managed by the banks, has been deposited in funds contaminated by the swindle farther down the line,” explains a specialist on the case. “Some of them may never know, because their banks will discretely compensate them,” he added. At the Financial Markets Authority and the Paris prosecutor’s office, the case is being closely monitored and “regular meetings” are being held on the affair.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, your most trusted translator and aggregator of foreign news and views about our nation.
Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US