American Banking – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has ordered Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to pay $20.6 billion to victimized investors of a Ponzi scheme run by Bayou Hedge Funds. The three-person arbitration panel for the financial regulatory agency ruled that Goldman Sachs should have been aware of the Ponzi scheme being run at the hedge fund.
Goldman Sachs’ clearing unit is being held directly liable in the complaint. The $20.6 million is the amount that Bayou Hedge Funds deposited into its accounts at Goldman, which handled the funds trading between 1999 and 2004.