Mexico’s Madoff

from The Jerusalem Post:

Have Mexican Jews lost their wealth in Madoff-like scheme?

Texas-born bank tycoon Robert Allen Stanford, who faces unfolding fraud allegations surrounding his Antiguan investment banks, may end up filling a Bernard Madoff-like role for Latin American Jews and specifically the Mexico City community.

While a smaller sum of money is involved – “only” $8 billion of investments are being questioned – a lot more is at stake.

Thousands of Mexico City’s Jews purportedly invested with Stanford’s banks, lured in by promises of 14-percent returns and a seemingly secure place for their money outside the volatile Mexican economy.

Pesos were tucked away in Caribbean accounts, and investors felt assured that their money would be available whenever the need arose.

But now that the need has arisen – the current financial crisis is by many accounts growing worse, and people are strapped for cash – Mexico City’s Jews, a community of nearly 40,000, cannot get to their money.