South African faces fraud claims

Madoff has admitted running a $50bn (£35bn) Ponzi scheme

A South African judge has appointed three trustees to manage the assets of a businessman accused of running a Bernard Madoff-style investment fraud.

Barry Tannenbaum is alleged to have defrauded investors of 15bn rand ($1.86bn; £1.14bn) in a Ponzi scheme.

Mr Tannenbaum, who now lives in Australia, has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "outrageous".

Ponzi schemes involve using money from new investors to pay returns to existing investors.

"The trustees will be investigating all the affairs of [Mr] Tannenbaum - what he was doing, how he got the money, who were his partners," said Ian Levitt, a lawyer representing one of the trustees.

Mr Levitt had previously represented investors who lost money with Mr Tannenbaum.

Mr Tannenbaum has said he does not plan to return to South Africa or to sell assets to pay back investors.

Joint investigation

Mr Tannenbaum blames his company Frankel International's difficulties on the global economic crisis.

On Sunday, five South African law enforcement agencies launched a joint investigation into allegations against Mr Tannenbaum, including fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

Private investigators say Mr Tannenbaum lured hundreds of investors with the promise of annual returns as high as 200% linked to pharmaceutical imports.

Investors who have reportedly lost money with Mr Tannenbaum include Sean Summers, the former chief executive of Pick n Pay, one of South Africa's leading retailers, as well as businessmen from the UK and Russia.

In the US, money manager Bernard Madoff had pleaded guilty to 11 charges that he ran a $50bn (£35bn) investment fraud. He is currently awaiting sentencing.