Madoff: SEC could have had him earlier

NEW YORK, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Jailed former financier Bernard Madoff says lack of basic investigatory moves by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission allowed his Ponzi scheme to flourish.

In a jailhouse interview given by Madoff to the SEC and released Friday, the disgraced financier said investigators failed to check basics, such as his account with Wall Street's central clearinghouse and records of the firms he falsely claimed were handling his trades, The New York Times reported.

In the interview, Madoff contended that those simple moves could have revealed his $65 billion scheme far earlier, reportedly saying, "It would have been easy for them to see."

The transcripts were released as part of a 6,157-page trove of documents amassed by the SEC's inspector general, H. David Kotz, who last month concluded a lengthy probe of how the commission dealt with Madoff over the years.

The Times said Madoff told Kotz that on two occasions he felt sure the SEC was closing in on his Ponzi operation, but each time he escaped. Madoff said he believed the SEC failed to check his clearinghouse account because of his stature in the industry, the transcripts indicated.