The US financial watchdog mishandled a string of probes into the business of convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff, an investigation¹ has found.

一项调查发现，美国金融监督机构不能处理已判刑的诈骗犯Bernard Madoff产业的一系列调查。

Bernard Madoff was given a 150-year sentence in June

It said the Securities and Exchange Commission bungled²（拙劣地工作，失败） five investigations³ despite many complaints over 16 years about the $65bn (£40bn) fraud.

However, the SEC inspector⁴（检察长） general's report found no evidence of improper⁵ ties between the agency and Madoff.

Madoff, 71, was jailed for 150 years at the end of June.

He admitted defrauding⁶ thousands of investors⁷ through a Ponzi scheme which he said had been running since the early 1990s.

'Regret'

SEC enforcement staff had "almost immediately caught [Madoff] in lies and misrepresentations（虚假的陈述，诈称）, but failed to follow up on inconsistencies（不一致，矛盾）", the report said.

They had also rejected offers from whistleblowers（告发者） to provide additional evidence, it added.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said that the report, by David Kotz, "makes clear that the agency missed numerous opportunities to discover the fraud".

"It is a failure that we continue to regret, and one that has led us to reform in many ways how we regulate markets and protect investors."

A congressional hearing in February severely⁸ criticised five high-ranking SEC officials for their failure to stop Madoff earlier - three of them have now left the agency.

Madoff's firm was investigated because it made exceptional returns, but no irregularities were officially reported.

It was the global recession which in effect prompted Madoff's demise⁹（死亡）, as investors, hit by the downturn, tried to withdraw about $7bn from his funds and he could not find the money to cover it.

The list of Madoff's victims includes film director Steven Spielberg's charitable foundation, Wunderkinder - but school teachers, farmers, mechanics and many others have also lost money.