US trustee opts out of Irish Madoff case

THE US trustee handling the liquidation of the business of alleged $65 billion (e50bn) fraudster Bernard Madoff has told the High Court he has decided not to participate “at this stage” in court proceedings here.

The proceedings are by two Irish-listed investment companies for the return of some e1bn given to the Irish arm of banking giant HSBC and passed on to Madoff companies.

However, trustee Irving Picard indicated in a statement to the High Court yesterday he has “wide-ranging” remedies under US law to challenge transactions involving Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS) prior to the start of the Madoff bankruptcy.