Everywhere seems to have its own Bernie Madoff. For example Dealscape recently highlighted
Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Philip Barry, a money manager that investigators on
Sept. 8 charged with ripping off more than $40 million. But the U.S.
aside, even tiny Lebanon has a Madoff.
After filing for bankruptcy
in his home nation, some are now
calling Lebanese businessman Salah Ezzedine the Madoff of the Middle
East, and his alleged fraud scheme has already been linked to some
high-profile entities.
Ezzedine was arrested by Lebanese authorities last week on
suspicions that he orchestrated one of the largest Ponzi scheme in the
country's history, though he has yet to be charged with a crime.
Meanwhile, an official that spoke to the Financial Times placed the value of
Ezzedine's possible fraud at $700 million, though the Los Angeles Times pegged it at around $1.5 billion.
Considering that Lebanon's gross domestic product according to the U.S. State Department is roughly $21.5 billion, that would mean that the amount of
Ezzedine's fraud represents roughly 3.2% of GDP by the more modest
estimate, and nearly 7% on the higher one. In comparison, Madoff's fraud of around $50
billion represents a mere 0.36% of the U.S.'s roughly $14 trillion GDP.
Still, Madoff reigns as the supreme Ponzi schemer
to date. But not to the investors that Ezzedine promised a return of
between 25% and 55%, including families
and charities. Even members of Shi'a Islamic organization Hezbollah have been tied to the Ezzadine's
activities, though the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has told the press that his
organization has had "nothing whatsoever to do with this issue, from
beginning to end." - Carolyn Okomo
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