Ponzi king Madoff cleaned London office out just before his arrest

London, June 7 (ANI): Ponzi king Bernie Madoff, who has been accused of committing a fraud of 60 billion dollars, is reported to have ordered his London office to sell its 165 million dollar portfolio of UK gilts only a month before he confessed to the FBI that his business was a "big lie".

According to The Independent, directors of his London office followed Madoff's instructions, transferring the sale proceeds to his New York office.

It is still not clear where this money went.

The Independent on Sunday has established that in the middle of November last year Madoff phoned Chris Dale, the finance director of Madoff Securities International (MSI), the London affiliate, and told him to sell the entire gilts portfolio.

Madoff then instructed Dale to transfer the money to his New York business, whereupon he would buy US treasuries on London's behalf.

Madoff told Dale that he wanted to make the switch due to worries about the return on gilts because of sterling's fall against the dollar.

Madoff's London office, headed by City veteran Stephen Raven, was a proprietary trading business capitalised by the Madoff family money to the tune of 200 million dollars.

After the 165 million dollars was transferred, London was left with assets of around 40 million dollars. These assets are still frozen by the UK courts, and may become subject to legal claims by investors in the US who have lost millions in the scam. (ANI)