Judge says recusal application over Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme case would be waste of court time

A judge said it would be "a complete waste of court time" for him to spend up to five days on an application to recuse himself from continuing to hear a High Court case related to the Ponzi scheme run by jailed US fraudster Bernie Madoff.

Mr Justice Michael Twomey therefore adjourned generally a recusal application from British Virgin Islands (BVI) registered investment fund, Defender, pending that company's decision to appeal his ruling on December 4 last that it could not maintain a $141m damages claim against Dublin-registered HSBC Institutional Trust Services Ireland Ltd.