Madoff victims to get $1.5bn back - reports

Almost half the victims of the Bernie Madoff ponzi investment scheme will get their money back after a $1.5bn payout was announced.

Trustee Irving Picard has recouped about $11bn of the $18bn invested in the funds, but the distribution of the money to victims has been slowed by legal challenges, The Times reports. Madoff was handed a 150-year jail term after being found guilty of fraud three years ago. The Times reports Picard has only paid out $335m to investors so far, but has sent a request to the US bankruptcy court for permission to distribute a further $1.5bn to $3bn. The report said the $3bn figure assumes investors get no interest for the money they ploughed into the scheme - which it said had infuria...