WASHINGTON, DC – February 9, 2015 – Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) today applauded Irving H. Picard – the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (Madoff) – on the announcement of the fifth distribution of recovered funds to Madoff customers. The distribution will total $355.8 million.

The total amount distributed in the Madoff liquidation proceeding to date exceeds $7.2 billion, covering more than 54 percent of the losses of allowed claimants. The overall figure of $7.2 billion includes $823.7 million in committed advances from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

When additional settlements awaiting distribution are taken into account, the total recovery to date in the Madoff liquidation proceeding totals $10.551 billion. (For more information, see http://www.sipc.org/news-and-media/news-releases/20141117.)

SIPC President and CEO Stephen P. Harbeck said: "The excellent results to date show that the Bankruptcy Code and the Securities Investor Protection Act give the Trustee the ability to recover assets for the investors who lost their funds in this financial tragedy. SIPC supports the Trustee fully in his efforts to maximize the returns to the victims."

Harbeck added: "To that end, SIPC pays for all of the administrative expenses necessary to recover assets for distribution in the Madoff proceeding. All of the funds recovered are distributed to customers. No customer money is used for administrative expenses. We look forward to additional distributions as soon as possible."

More information on overall recoveries to date and the ongoing Madoff liquidation can be found on the Trustee’s website at http://www.madofftrustee.com.