Nomura's exposure $306-million exposure in Masdoff's Ponzi

15 December 2008

In the latest development in the Bernard Madoff fraud investigation, Japan's largest securities company Nomura Holdings said Monday it has 27.5 billion yen in exposure to a recently uncovered Ponzi scheme (See: Madoff's Ponzi scam hits Wall Street)

Tokyo based Nomura Holdings is the latest victim to come forward to say it had been duped by Bernard Madoff, ex-chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Bernard Madoff was arrested 11 December in what prosecutors say was a $50 billion plan to defraud investors.

''Nomura expects its exposure to Bernard Madoff to be limited to about 27.5 billion yen. We regard this as non-material considering our capital base'' according to a statement issued by Nomura

French bank BNP Paribas said its risk exposure could lead to about $470 million in losses.

Spain's largest bank, Santander, which also owns three UK banks namely UK High Street banks Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, said one of its fund ''Optimal '' had $3.1bn invested in the firm run by Bernard Madoff, according to media reports.