Just when you thought it not possible for banks to have yet another scandal…they have another scandal!

First, of course, came the subprime mortgage disaster, which led to the global credit debacle.

Now, news agencies, such as the BBC, are reporting that banks around the world have been hit by what may be one of the largest fraud cases in recent (or any?) banking history.

The alleged fraud, to the tune of as much as $50 billion, was the scheme, according to U.S. prosecutors, of Bernard Madoff, who has been charged with fraud, among other things.

Madoff was once head of the Nasdaq stock market.

It is alleged he designed a massive fraud through hedge funds and his advisory business in New York, taking money from new investors to pay off old investors.

According to the BBC, “some of the world’s biggest banks” are “victims”–including the largest bank in Spain, HSBC in the UK, and at least one bank in France. 

So, who was watching the fox?

Apparently, no one, really.

The head of Bramdean investments tells BBC “I think now it is very difficult for people to invest in things that are meant to be regulated in America, because they have fallen down on the job.”

Talk about understatement!

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