Santander ex-hedge fund boss is facing charges on Madoff
MANUEL ECHEVERRIA, the ex-chief executive of Banco Santander’s hedge-fund unit Optimal, was yesterday charged by a Geneva court with the “dishonest management” of client funds which had been invested with fraudster Bernie Madoff.
Echeverria, who is one of the most senior wealth managers facing charges in relation to the Madoff affair, was charged in August with mismanaging funds.
Santander’s European and Latin American clients were among the worst hit by Madoff’s $64.8bn (£38bn) Ponzi scheme. They had €2.33bn (£1.2bn) in funds at Santander – Europe’s second-largest bank by market value – via Optimal, which were being managed by Madoff when the Ponzi scheme was exposed.
The main argument against Echeverria is that he was rewarded with financial commissions as a result of the Madoff investments, but misled investors by wrongly claiming to have conducted adequate due diligence on Madoff’s operations.
Echeverria has denied any wrongdoing.
Santander yesterday reiterated its January statement that it had “acted at all times with due diligence in the management of its clients’ investments”.