Sentence is necessary and rare

The 71-year-old fraudster’s conduct was indefensible and he deserved what he got, writes John Gapper. But the case was unusual
Bernard Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, has been sentenced to the maximum of 150 years in prison for running a $65bn “Ponzi scheme” with the judge referring to his “extraordinarily evil” crimes
The former chairwoman of Galeries Lafayette has sued HSBC France over the alleged loss of €7.5m invested in LuxAlpha
Nearly 200 items belonging to Bernard Madoff and his wife Ruth were auctioned in New York by the US government, with the proceeds going towards compensating the victims
Two computer programmers from Bernard Madoff’s fraudulent investment operation were arrested on charges of falsifying Mr Madoff’s trading records to make them appear regular and above board
The former head of Optimal, the Geneva-based hedge fund investment arm of Spanish bank Santander, has been charged with criminal mismanagement of funds that were placed with Bernard Madoff
Jeffry Picower, the long-time investor and friend of Bernard Madoff, has left hundreds of millions of dollars and an assortment of jewellery and other valuables to his family, friends and charity
Financial Times has reconstructed the last year of his operation through interviews with dozens of his friends, colleagues and investors

The 71-year-old fraudster’s conduct was indefensible and he deserved what he got, writes John Gapper. But the case was unusual

Investment: As Bernard Madoff faces sentencing for perhaps the biggest fraud ever, he leaves behind an industry beset by mutual distrust and harsher regulation
A key to his infamy lies in the words ‘split-strike conversion strategy’. That is the explanation he gave for his spectacularly consistent returns, writes Christopher Caldwell
Scavenging for cash from those who reaped false profits while the going was good pits investor against investor. But it is the only way

The fraudster hints at impropriety, but implies that the target will be
the beneficiary rather than the victim, writes John Kay
Madoff was led from the court to prison for the first time, for a massive Ponzi scheme. Applause at his plea were swiftly muted in deference to the non-nonsense judge
Growth of hedge funds made secrecy and high returns seem more common and laid the ground for the biggest surge in fraud since the 1920s
Although Bernard Madoff was the man behind the $65bn fraud, there are plenty of others who should take blame for not looking behind the smoke and mirrors long before the Ponzi scheme imploded