By Gabriel Chen

THE number of victims duped by veteran Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff (right) just keeps growing but major Singaporean institutions appear to have escaped the fallout.

Japanese, Korean and European investors have been added to the lengthy casualty list after Madoff was arrested last Thursday for allegedly running a giant pyramid scheme at his New York firm.

Rich individuals, hedge funds and blue chip institutions have all apparently suffered at the hands of Madoff, a 70-year-old Wall Street legend who had commanded awe and respect for years among his financial sector peers.

Temasek Holdings said it had no direct exposure to Madoff's fund, while the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation declined to comment.

OCBC Bank said yesterday that it has no exposure. 'The exposure of our insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, to this entity is immaterial,' said Ms Koh Ching Ching, OCBC's head of group corporate communications.

Bankers here said that while Madoff is not believed to have an office in Singapore, there were attempts by fund distributors to source funding here.

One banker recalls that earlier this year, a fund distributor tried to get institutions to park money with Madoff. 'We didn't take it up as it was opaque,' she said, declining to disclose details about the distributor.

A hedge fund manager here said that the Madoff money management operation was not something retail investors would look at. Such funds are typically marketed to 'sophisticated investors' who understand the high risks involved.

Another banker said they were approached to invest with Madoff, but never felt comfortable with the idea. 'There was not much disclosure in, for instance, how they made their returns, and between us, we didn't go beyond an initial interest in the firm,' he said.

Meanwhile, a list of global banks and financial institutions yesterday began acknowledging their exposure to Madoff funds. They included Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland, Man Group and HSBC Holdings, France's BNP Paribas, Spain's Grupo Santander and Switzerland's Union Bancaire Privee and Benbassat & Cie.

According to Bloomberg, South Korean firms, including a life insurer, have a combined US$95.1 million (S$140 million) of Madoff-linked investments. The country's financial watchdog said the life insurer had a direct investment of US$50 million in Madoff's funds, according to Bloomberg.

Leading Japanese broker Nomura said it faced losses of up to 27.5 billion yen (S$447 million). Other victims include the owner of the New York Mets baseball team, Mr Fred Wilpon; clients of private bankers in Geneva; and wealthy Jewish families in New York and Palm Beach, Florida. Funds of hedge funds such as Fairfield Greenwich also saw their investments go sour. The US$7.3 billion Fairfield Sentry Fund invested solely with Madoff, Bloomberg said.

A private banker in Singapore said Fairfield Greenwich has Asian clients but they are few and far between. Funds of hedge funds act as middlemen, raising money from investors and then farming it out to other managers they vet.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 16, 2008.