A US federal judge ruled Monday that alleged fraudster Bernie Madoff can remain at large pending his trial on securities fraud. The man who is said to have been involved in a $50bn ponzi scheme will continue under house arrest at his luxury Manhattan apartment.

The decision to allow Madoff to avoid jail (at least for the time being) has not been met with much approval. Many of the financier's 'locals' (folks who live in the neighbourhood) are incensed that he is not behind bars. Bloomberg quotes Dawn Pohl, a real estate broker who lives on 72nd Street, who said: 'Other people go to jail for much less severe offenses, while he is sitting in the lap of luxury. It's almost as if he's being rewarded for what he's done. I think it's a disgrace'.

Government prosecutors still regard Madoff as a flight risk, and intend to appeal the judge's decision. Legal experts point out, however, that Madoff has yet to be convicted of any crime, he is wearing an electronic monitoring device, and there are guards posted around his building (although these are there at the behest of, and are being paid for by, the Madoff family, and they primarily there for Madoff's protection).

In the meantime, The Guardian reports that J Ezra Merzin, the hedge fund billionaire who was forced to close his $1.5bn Gabriel Capital fund last month because of exposure to Madoff, is being sued by New York University and, in the next week to 10 days, further lawsuits are expected to be filed against him. Bloomberg reports that Walter Noel's Fairfield Greenwich Group, which had $7.5bn with the alleged fraudster, has now been sued for at least the third time by angry investors. French fund manager Oddo & Cie is also said to have sued UBS to recover some $40m that was invested with Madoff. And Reuters reports that Man Group, which is exposed to the tune of around $360m to Madoff through its RMF business unit, is to sue. The news agency quotes Man CEO Peter Clarke, who said: 'We will be suing the people involved'.

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