The Madoff Victim Cash Recovery Quest May Be Coming to a Close

Having snagged more than $14 billion for investors, trustee Irving Picard has one more big target: $3.2 billion held overseas.

Illustration: George Wylesol for Bloomberg Businessweek
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HSBC Holdings Plc, et al., Petitioners v. Irving H. Picard
Case #19-277

Remember when Bernard Madoff acknowledged operating the biggest Ponzi scheme ever, bilking investors out of $17.5 billion? That was 11 years ago. Since then, Irving Picard, the trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy, has filed hundreds of lawsuits to recover money for Madoff victims. He’s clawed back $14.2 billion so far. But there’s one bucket of money he hasn’t been able to get at: about $3.2 billion held by foreign banks.