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Aurelia Finance

Aurelia Finance
Company typeprivate bank and fund-management company
Headquarters
Geneva
,
Switzerland
Servicesfeeder fund to Bernie Madoff

Aurelia Finance SA was a private bank and fund-management company in Geneva, Switzerland that was set up as a feeder fund to Bernie Madoff's illegal Ponzi scheme.[1][2]

Aurelia managed 1.7 billion Swiss francs of clients' money, and advised clients to invest in the Hermes World Fund, a Madoff feeder fund which was listed in Dublin in January 2004, as part of a "conservative" portfolio.[1][3]

Madoff

It placed assets of its 800 million Swiss francs ($758 million) Hermes World Fund in investments with Bernard Madoff.[1][4]

Irving Picard, the trustee charged with recovering money for Madoff fraud victims, alleged that in September 2008 when a JPMorgan Structured Investments Distribution Marketing division employee disclosed JPMorgan plans to redeem its money, he was threatened by employees of Aurelia Finance.[5][6] Picard asserted in a complaint: "The Aurelia Finance representatives repeatedly opposed [JP Morgan's] plan. At two points in the conversation, the Aurelia Finance representatives made threats ... referring to 'Colombian friends' who could 'cause havoc' and telling [the JPMorgan employee] 'we know where to find you'.”[5] JPMorgan reported the threats to the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency in October 2008 by filing a Suspicious Activity Report, concerned that "Colombian drug money" was involved in the Madoff firm.[5][7][8]

Aurelia lost an estimated $800 million of clients' money by investing in Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme, uncovered in December 2008.[2][9]

Post-Madoff

In April 2009, all five directors of Aurelia's board were charged by a Geneva magistrate with criminal mismanagement of client assets, and with enriching themselves on management fees, finder fees, and commissions paid for fictitious returns that were never verified.[2][10] They all then resigned from the board.[2][11] Cattaneo and Stepczynski retained executive roles at the bank, however.[2] The company had one sole director as of 4 June 2009, Gerhard Auer.[2]

In November 2009, prosecutors leveled money laundering charges at Stepczynski after the bank he tried to use to transfer millions of francs out of Switzerland informed the authorities.[2] A Geneva examining magistrate then froze the assets of all five former Aurelia directors.[2]

On 4 September 2015 the criminal complaints against the five directors were settled in Geneva.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Mulier, Thomas (30 December 2008). "Aurelia Finance Invested Client Money in Madoff, Le Temps Says". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h de Sa'Pinto, Martin (12 November 2009). "Aurelia man charged with money laundering-sources". Reuters. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  3. ^ de Sa'Pinto, Martin (23 April 2009). "Swiss Madoff investors await Aurelia ruling". Reuters. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  4. ^ de Sa'Pinto, Martin (12 March 2009). "UBP to partially reimburse Madoff victims". Reuters. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  5. ^ a b c Murphy, Megan (3 February 2011). "JPMorgan under fire over Madoff role". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  6. ^ Courtney Comstock (15 April 2011). "JPMorgan Did A Cost-Benefit to See If It Was Worth Keeping a Ponzi Scheme As a Client". Cnbc. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  7. ^ Schecter, Anna (2 December 2010). "JP Morgan Suspected Madoff Months Prior to Arrest". United States: ABC News. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Madoff trustee: JP Morgan execs were warned". USA Today. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  9. ^ "Swiss judge allows charges in Madoff losses case". Reuters. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  10. ^ Bloomberg Markets. July 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  11. ^ Giles, Warren (7 May 2009). "Rothschild Difference With Madoff Becomes Geneva's Obsession". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  12. ^ "Geneva wealth managers pay defrauded investors to settle Madoff case". Reuters. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
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