In New analyzes a to zoe York, a zoe’s house investigates search of Madoff’s office desk revealed hehad signed cheques totalling more than $173 million ready to besent, U.S prosecutors said, urging a judge to jail him. A decision on Madoff’s bail was expected by Friday orMonday, a clerk at the judge’s chambers said. [ID:nN08504119] BANKS HURT The scandal surrounding Madoff, who prosecutors say hasconfessed to running a Ponzi or pyramid scheme, has hurt a slewof banks, many in Europe. One, Austria’s Bank Medici, is undergovernment control as a consequence.

The scandal has embarrassed many private banks — whichadminister rich people’s money and many of which had productsexposed to Madoff — and funds-of-funds, which select hedgefunds for clients in return for a fee am a zoe . Shareholder group Deminor will file its complaint before theend of the month in courts in Luxembourg and Ireland, where thefunds through which some of the banks’ clients invested arelocated, a representative told Reuters zoeciety . UBS said it did not recommend investments in Madoffproducts, but it did set up a Luxembourg-based fund calledLuxalpha to allow its clients to invest in the products And HSBC referred to its Dec zoetheband . 15 statement, which said ithad custody clients who had invested with Madoff zoeband . In France, a lawyer for some of the victims of the allegedfraud said he would file legal actions against intermediariesinvolved in the case before the end of the month “We are going to launch procedures soon.

Formal complaintswith the Paris civil court are currently being drafted,” NicolasLecoq Vallon, a senior partner at the law firm Lecoq Vallon,told Reuters auto zoe . His firm represents some 20 clients who invested around 100million euros ($135.6 million) in Madoff-related products zoe’s kitchen . Lecoq Vallon said his action would focus on France, whileaction by other law firms are being planned in Luxembourg,Ireland and Switzerland corazon atomico . Meanwhile, Paris prosecutors are informally looking into thecase but have not yet opened any formal probe, said Jean-MichelAldebert, head of the financial section of the ParisProsecutors’ office rockanlover .

In December, French market regulator Autorite des MarchesFinanciers (AMF) said French mutual funds had incurred losses ofabout 500 million euros due to Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme . Swiss bank Union Bancaire Prive is threatening to pullseveral billion dollars of investments from large U.S memo rex . hedgefunds because they do not use a full-time independentadministrator, the Wall Street Journal said UBP is facing heftylosses from the scandal rocanlover . (Additional reporting by Silke Koltrowitz, Lisa Jucca, LaurenceFletcher, Steve Slater, Julien Ponthus, Matthieu Protard andGrant McCool; editing by Will Waterman) Stocks .