Authorities in race to seize Madoff assets

In what might sound like a remake of the Keystone Cops, officials and prosecutors ended up in court in a race to see who will get ultimate control of Bernie Madoff's assets. In the past couple of days, we've learned that French officials may be gearing up to seize Ruth Madoff's chateau in France. Securities Investor Protection Corporation Trustee Irving Picard and U.S. prosecutors locked horns in court over who should have control over the London operation. We also learn that U.S. prosecutors have been in contact with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and Serious Frauds Office in the United Kingdom.

Picard raised the tally for the amount of assets found to $1 billion after tracking $75 million in assets of Bernard L. Madoff Securities in Gibraltar, according to a report in Bloomberg. The chateau that French authorities have their sights on is valued at about $1.6 million.