US The US Securities and Exchange Commission missed many chances to expose Bernard Madoff’s giant “Ponzi” scheme because the staff either did not know what to do or failed to follow up on detailed complaints, the agency’s internal watchdog has concluded.
In spite of eight credible complaints over the years, including one as recently as March 2008, “a thorough and competent investigation or examination was never performed,” said a summary of the findings, released on Wedesday. The SEC “never took the necessary, but basic, steps to determine if Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme.”
