Madoff Trustee Sues UBS for $2 Billion

The trustee representing investors cheated by Bernie Madoff sued Swiss bank UBS (UBS) for $2 billion.

The suit alleges that UBS collaborated with Madoff's Ponzi scheme, The Associated Press reported. The suit alleges 23 counts of financial fraud and misconduct by UBS and related entities and individuals and seeks to recover $2 billion for Madoff's victims.

UBS assisted the Ponzi scheme, the biggest in U.S. history, by serving as the sponsor, custodian and administrator of affiliated feeder funds, the suit alleges.

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The full complaint is under seal. A redacted version is available to the public.

"We have battled with UBS regarding disclosure of information about the bank's knowledge of Madoff," said Irving Picard, the trustee. "Unfortunately, they are still trying to shield this information from the public by designating all of their information as confidential."

The Madoff scheme couldn't succeed "unless UBS had agreed not only to look the other way, but also to pretend that they were truly ensuring the existence of assets and trades when in fact they were not and never did," said David Sheehan, counsel for the trustee.

Madoff is currently serving 150 years for the scheme, which cheated wealthy individuals and charities out of billions of dollars.