Madoff £1bn investor commits suicide

Wednesday 24th December 2008

An investment manager who put $1.4 billion (£1 billion) of clients' money into a fund run by Bernard Madoff has been found dead.
 
Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, 65, was based in New York and told co-workers he was working late, but was found in his office the next day with cuts to both his wrists.
 
The French executive was head of fund manager Access International.
 
A bottle of pills was discovered with his body, but no suicide note was left.
 
Ray Kelly, New York Police Department commissioner, said: "Sometime this morning an employee was unable to get in [the office] and asked security to go up and open the door.
 
"Security did go up and open the door and they found the man at his desk."
 
Mr Magon de la Villehuchet had reportedly been working around the clock to secure his clients' money lost in the alleged fraud.
 
Mr Madoff is currently under house arrest.
 
The alleged $50 billion fraud was uncovered earlier this month, when it is thought Mr Madoff admitted his fund was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.
 
Mr Madoff ran an investment advisor business, managing assets of around $17.1 billion.
 
He is accused of running the business fraudulently for years, racking up losses of $50 billion before finally admitting to two senior employees - thought to be his sons - that he was "finished," that he had "absolutely nothing," that "it's all just one big lie," and that it was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme."
 
The list of investors facing losses due to the alleged fraud is vast.
 
HSBC could be one of the biggest victims, after it confirmed losses of $1 billion (£667 million), while Royal Bank of Scotland reportedly has an exposure of up to £400 million.

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