WASHINGTON, DC – March 24, 2015 – The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) today praised the latest achievement of Madoff Trustee Irving H. Picard, who yesterday filed a motion in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York seeking approval of a $93 million recovery agreement with Defender Limited and related entities.

Under the agreement, the trustee was able to "clawback" 100 percent of the fraudulent transfers and preference payments made to Defender, a Madoff feeder fund. The use of this recovery tool by Picard and future Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) trustees is now at risk under a Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that is the subject of petitions for certiorari by SIPC and Picard to the U.S. Supreme Court.

SIPC President Stephen Harbeck said: "This settlement is one of many recent significant additions to the Trustee's fund of 'customer property.' It shows the critical importance of the 'clawback' powers the Bankruptcy Code and the Securities Investor Protection Act provide to trustees seeking to recover fraudulent transfers. The settlement is a continuation of the Trustee's efforts to maximize the return to victims. It will make for a far more equitable distribution to those Madoff customers who have not yet received a return of all of their principal."

The total amount distributed in the Madoff liquidation proceeding to date exceeds $7.2 billion, which includes more than $823 million in committed advances from SIPC. When additional settlements awaiting distribution are taken into account, the total recovery to date in the Madoff liquidation proceeding totals $10.64 billion.