Why did Bernard Madoff plead guilty so quickly?
Never in the history of serious fraud cases has there been such a situation as we saw yesterday when Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty within seconds of receiving the charges against him. While the evidence against him had been building for some time, nobody expected Madoff to plead guilty and it is a mystery as to why he has chosen to do this at this time. Is there more to this story than meets the eye?
There are numerous allegations in the press regarding Bernard Madoff's family, many of whom worked for his investment management business. There is growing speculation that a deal between Madoff and the US authorities may have been done to protect others who worked for the business from future prosecution or legal action. While it must be said there is no evidence to suggest that any of Bernard Madoff's family were in any way implicit in the alleged fraud there are rumours and counter rumour circulating the financial industry.
Whatever the reason for Bernard Madoff to plead guilty so quickly there is no doubt that the US authorities have managed to secure another blow against the ever-growing number of fraudsters around the world. It is highly likely that we will see more high profile fraud cases appear over the coming months although whether they will be the size of the Bernard Madoff affair very much remains to be seen.
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