Madoff lists assets for SEC; agency mum on details

NEW YORK -- Bernard Madoff gave the Securities and Exchange Commission a list of his personal assets Wednesday, but investors may have to wait to learn whether the filing contained any clues as to the whereabouts of their missing billions.

The disgraced money manager, now under house arrest, had faced a court-ordered deadline of Dec. 31 to turn over a detailed accounting of his homes, stock holdings, bank accounts and other business interests.

The list was also supposed to include the names and locations of any bank or brokerage accounts holding whatever remains of his clients' money.

The SEC confirmed Wednesday evening that it had received the filing, but it declined to reveal details or make the documents available to journalists. The list was not filed publicly in any of the courts handling the Madoff case, and SEC spokesmen said no decision had been made as to whether part or all of the asset disclosure would ultimately be made public.

Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, said his client was abiding by the court order, but the attorney would not comment further.

Any Madoff assets disclosed in the filing or unearthed by investigators could eventually be tapped to make restitution to victims of what authorities say was a massive Ponzi scheme.

Madoff's personal wealth is said to be substantial. He had mansions in the Hamptons near New York City and Palm Beach, Florida; a penthouse in Manhattan; and a handful of luxury yachts. His firm operated proprietary stock trading desks in New York and London that were supposedly investing the family's vast fortune.

Still, those assets would likely cover only a fraction of the billions of dollars that investors entrusted to Madoff.

Law firms representing Madoff's clients said they were nonetheless still eager to see what might be available to repay victims.

"Like everyone else, we expect it to be made public," said attorney Matthew Gluck, a partner at Milberg. Gluck added that if the SEC refuses to disclose the documents, his law firm would consider other steps to obtain the information.