Defender Limited
Genreinvestment fund
FoundedMay 2007 in British Virgin Islands
FounderReliance Group
Headquarters
British Virgin Islands

Defender Limited is an investment fund. It was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in 2007. Defender funneled clients' funds to Bernard Madoff's firm as part of a Ponzi scheme run by Madoff.[1][2][3][4][5] Madoff was arrested in December 2008, and pleaded guilty to fraud in 2009.[2] He is serving a 150-year prison term.[1]

Formation

Defender was formed in May 2007.[2] It was formed with the support of individuals who had encouraged investing with Madoff since 1999.[2] According to the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) Trustee for BLIMIS assets Irving Picard, Defender was created by the Reliance Group. The Reliance Group was, according to Picard, in turn established by Tim Brockmann, an investment manager in Switzerland and Gibraltar.[6]

Activities

Defender acted as a feeder fund, by funneling clients' funds to Bernard Madoff's firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS), as part of a Ponzi scheme run by Madoff.[1][2][3][4][5] Madoff was arrested in December 2008, and pleaded guilty to fraud in 2009.[2] He is serving a 150-year prison term.[1]

Litigation

In December 2013, Defender sued HSBC Continental Europe (formerly HSBC France; HSBC Institutional Trust Services Incorporated), an Irish subsidiary of HSBC Bank with registered offices in Dublin, in an Irish court for $539 million.[3][7][8][4] Defender alleged that the bank failed to conduct adequate due diligence on Madoff, and failed to warn Defender that HSBC was not able to confirm the existence of Defender's assets.[3][7][8][9][10] In December 2018, the High Court of Ireland ruled that Defender's claim against HSBC was reduced by 100% due to Defender's earlier settlement with BLMIS.[4] Defender appealed that decision to the Irish Court of Appeal.[11] On April 14, 2021, the day Madoff died, the case settled immediately before proceedings were due to begin in court before Mr Justice Mark Sanfey, and was scheduled to last 24 weeks.[12]

On April 16, 2015, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved an agreement between Picard on the one hand, and Defender and related entities on the other hand.[13] The BLMIS Customer Fund benefited by $93 million.[13][2] Defender received a $522.8 million claim in the BLMIS liquidation, because Defender had deposited more with BLMIS than Defender withdrew.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Madoff feeder fund settles; victims' recovery tops $10.6 billion". Reuters. 23 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Randazzo, Sara (24 March 2015). "Madoff Trustee Strikes $93 Million Deal with Feeder Fund". The Wall Street Journal.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "VI 'feeder fund' sues bank to recover Madoff monies". The BVI Beacon. 4 December 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Carolan, Mary. "Ruling casts doubt on $141m case against HSBC's Irish arm". The Irish Times.
  5. 1 2 LeBor, Adam (8 October 2009). The Believers: How America Fell For Bernard Madoff's $65 Billion Investment Scam. Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 9780297859222 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ ""TRUSTEE'S MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN OPPOSITION TO MOTION OF RELIANCE MANAGEMENT (BVI) LIMITED, RELIANCE MANAGEMENT (GIBRALTAR) LIMITED AND TIM BROCKMANN TO DISMISS THE TRUSTEE'S COMPLAINT BASED ON A LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION"" (PDF).
  7. 1 2 Convery, William Fry-Paul; Hegarty, Derek. "Hard to Gain, Easy to Lose? - Lexology". lexology.com.
  8. 1 2 Groendahl, Boris. "HSBC warned about Madoff 'fraud and operational risks' in two KPMG reports - The Royal Gazette:Bermuda International Business". The Royal Gazette.
  9. ↑ "Irish arm of HSBC bank being sued over Madoff scheme". The Irish Independent.
  10. ↑ Mike. "BVI investment fund sues HSBC's arm over Madoff Ponzi scheme - BVI Offshore Business: Grey Area".
  11. ↑ "Judge says recusal hearing in Madoff case would be 'waste of court time'". The Irish Times.
  12. ↑ "Marathon Madoff Ponzi case settled before opening in High Court". The Irish Times.
  13. 1 2 "Defender"
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