The court-appointed trustee recovering money for investors cheated by Bernard Madoff sued Abu Dhabi's sovereign-wealth fund on Thursday seeking $300 million.
The lawsuit, filed by Madoff trustee Irving Picard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, is seeking to recover transfers allegedly made to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority by Fairfield Sentry, a Fairfield Greenwich Group feeder fund.
"Based on the trustee's investigation to date, approximately $300,000,000 of the money transferred from [Madoff's firm] to Fairfield Sentry was subsequently transferred by Fairfield Sentry to defendant [Abu Dhabi Investment Authority]," the lawsuit said.
A representative for Abu Dhabi Investment Authority declined to comment.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was established in 1976 to invest the assets of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It doesn't release information on the size of its portfolio but estimates by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute puts its value at $627 billion.
The action against the Abu Dhabi fund is the latest effort by Mr. Picard, who has filed dozens of lawsuits against individuals, banks and other firms for tens of billions of dollars.
Under bankruptcy law, Mr. Picard can seek to recover funds transferred out of Mr. Madoff's investment business before its collapse to help pay back those investors swindled by Mr. Madoff.
To date, the trustee has clawed back more than $10 billion for investors cheated by Mr. Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence.
Mr. Picard's lawsuit against the fund is part of a new phase in his efforts to recover money for Ponzi-scheme victims in which he is suing investors who were indirectly invested with Mr. Madoff through so-called feeder funds such as Fairfield.
In a settlement with Fairfield that became final in June, Mr. Picard negotiated the right to take over lawsuits to "claw back" money from some of the fund's investors who withdrew it before the Ponzi scheme's collapse.
In his suit, Mr. Picard said he has jurisdiction to sue the Abu Dhabi-based fund because it purposely directed that Fairfield Sentry, a Caribbean-based fund, invest its money with Mr. Madoff in New York, and because it wired money through a New York bank.
By PATRICK FITZGERALD
Source: http://online.wsj.com
The lawsuit, filed by Madoff trustee Irving Picard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, is seeking to recover transfers allegedly made to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority by Fairfield Sentry, a Fairfield Greenwich Group feeder fund.
"Based on the trustee's investigation to date, approximately $300,000,000 of the money transferred from [Madoff's firm] to Fairfield Sentry was subsequently transferred by Fairfield Sentry to defendant [Abu Dhabi Investment Authority]," the lawsuit said.
A representative for Abu Dhabi Investment Authority declined to comment.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was established in 1976 to invest the assets of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It doesn't release information on the size of its portfolio but estimates by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute puts its value at $627 billion.
The action against the Abu Dhabi fund is the latest effort by Mr. Picard, who has filed dozens of lawsuits against individuals, banks and other firms for tens of billions of dollars.
Under bankruptcy law, Mr. Picard can seek to recover funds transferred out of Mr. Madoff's investment business before its collapse to help pay back those investors swindled by Mr. Madoff.
To date, the trustee has clawed back more than $10 billion for investors cheated by Mr. Madoff, who is serving a 150-year prison sentence.
Mr. Picard's lawsuit against the fund is part of a new phase in his efforts to recover money for Ponzi-scheme victims in which he is suing investors who were indirectly invested with Mr. Madoff through so-called feeder funds such as Fairfield.
In a settlement with Fairfield that became final in June, Mr. Picard negotiated the right to take over lawsuits to "claw back" money from some of the fund's investors who withdrew it before the Ponzi scheme's collapse.
In his suit, Mr. Picard said he has jurisdiction to sue the Abu Dhabi-based fund because it purposely directed that Fairfield Sentry, a Caribbean-based fund, invest its money with Mr. Madoff in New York, and because it wired money through a New York bank.
By PATRICK FITZGERALD
Source: http://online.wsj.com
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