| Aurelia Finance | |
| Type: | private bank and fund-management company |
| Location City: | Geneva |
| Location Country: | Switzerland |
| Services: | feeder fund to Bernie Madoff |
Aurelia Finance SA was a private bank and fund-management company in Geneva, Switzerland that was set up as a feeder fund to Bernie Madoff's illegal Ponzi scheme.[1] [2]
Aurelia managed 1.7 billion Swiss francs of clients' money, and advised clients to invest in the Hermes World Fund, a Madoff feeder fund which was listed in Dublin in January 2004, as part of a "conservative" portfolio.[1] [3]
It placed assets of its 800 million Swiss francs ($758 million) Hermes World Fund in investments with Bernard Madoff.[1] [4]
Irving Picard, the trustee charged with recovering money for Madoff fraud victims, alleged that in September 2008 when a JPMorgan Structured Investments Distribution Marketing division employee disclosed JPMorgan plans to redeem its money, he was threatened by employees of Aurelia Finance.[5] [6] Picard asserted in a complaint: "The Aurelia Finance representatives repeatedly opposed [JP Morgan's] plan. At two points in the conversation, the Aurelia Finance representatives made threats ... referring to 'Colombian friends' who could 'cause havoc' and telling [the JPMorgan employee] 'we know where to find you'.”[5] JPMorgan reported the threats to the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency in October 2008 by filing a Suspicious Activity Report, concerned that "Colombian drug money" was involved in the Madoff firm.[5] [7] [8]
Aurelia lost an estimated $800 million of clients' money by investing in Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme, uncovered in December 2008.[2] [9]
In April 2009, all five directors of Aurelia's board were charged by a Geneva magistrate with criminal mismanagement of client assets, and with enriching themselves on management fees, finder fees, and commissions paid for fictitious returns that were never verified.[2] [10] They all then resigned from the board.[2] [11] Cattaneo and Stepczynski retained executive roles at the bank, however.[2] The company had one sole director as of 4 June 2009, Gerhard Auer.[2]
In November 2009, prosecutors leveled money laundering charges at Stepczynski after the bank he tried to use to transfer millions of francs out of Switzerland informed the authorities.[2] A Geneva examining magistrate then froze the assets of all five former Aurelia directors.[2]
On 4 September 2015 the criminal complaints against the five directors were settled in Geneva.[12]