Investor fraud probed in Spain

MADRID - Spain's anticorruption prosecutor has opened an investigation into Bernard Madoff's alleged fraud, which may cost clients of Banco Santander, the nation's largest lender and the owner of US-based Sovereign Bancorp, $3.1 billion.

The probe began last month, said an official at the prosecutor's office who asked not to be identified.

Santander said on Dec. 14 that customers were at risk from investments with Madoff through its Optimal Investment Services hedge fund unit.

Madoff's New York-based firm collapsed in December after he told his sons it was a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, according to a complaint filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Santander has been very transparent about its exposure to Madoff," said Luis Benguerel, a trader at Interbrokers Espanola SA in Barcelona. "Santander is a victim in this case."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Spanish prosecutors are investigating how Santander lost client money through Madoff's alleged fraud. A spokesman for the bank declined to comment. The official at the prosecutor's office said Santander wasn't a target of the probe.

The anticorruption prosecutor will be examining the relationship between Santander, the investment fund Fairfield Greenwich Group, and the Madoff funds, the Journal reported. Fairfield had $7.5 billion with Madoff.

About two-thirds of losses incurred by Santander clients were borne by investors in Latin America, the Journal said.