Madoff placed under house arrest in his apartment

New York: Bernard Madoff, the Wall Street fund manager who authorities say confessed to running a $50 billion (Dh183 billion) fraud, was put under 24-hour detention in his Manhattan apartment on Friday "to prevent harm or flight".

Madoff also agreed to the extension of court orders freezing his assets and the appointment of a receiver for his firm as investigators poured over masses of documents and conducted interviews into an alleged scam that has caused losses for charities and businesses around the world.

The main trade organisation for US accountants said it had begun an ethics investigation into the small accounting firm that supposedly signed off on the books of Madoff's investment management business.

The order tightening Madoff's bail conditions signed by US magistrate judge Theodore Katz in District Court in Manhattan said, "The defendant will employ a security firm to provide the following services to prevent harm or flight: round-the-clock monitoring at the defendant's building, including video monitoring of the defendant's apartment doors."

With all the attention on the case, angry investors hiring lawyers to try and recover losses, and photographers, TV crews and journalists outside the building, authorities apparently decided to put Madoff under even more surveillance.

The order replaced an earlier night curfew as part of Madoff's release on $10 million bail.

Madoff, 70, and his wife Ruth have already surrendered their passports to authorities and put up three properties worth millions of dollars as collateral.

"The order speaks for itself," said Daniel Horwitz, one of Madoff's lawyers, after the new conditions were set.

House arrest

Madoff will be under house arrest and direct monitoring by the FBI except for scheduled court appearances, the order said. Additional guards will be provided on request.

Madoff, who was arrested on December 11, is accused in a criminal complaint of one count of securities of fraud. In the complaint Madoff is quoted as saying his investment business was a fraud, "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme" whereby earlier investors were paid off with the money given by newer investors.