Madoff Ordered to Produce Accounting by Dec. 31

By Larry Newmeister

NEW YORK -- Disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff has been ordered to provide a written list by the end of the year of his assets and liabilities, a key step in finding what is left for investors after authorities said Madoff admitted squandering at least $50 billion.

U.S. District Judge Louis L. Stanton signed an order late Thursday requiring the 70-year-old Madoff to provide a verified accounting of all his assets, liabilities and property to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The directive was contained in an order that preserves a freeze of Madoff's assets, a directive put in place a week ago after authorities first filed charges against the former Nasdaq stock market chairman.

A message for comment left with Madoff's lawyer was not immediately returned Friday.

The court filing was made as investigators spent another day trying to untangle Madoff's operation. Investigators have started serving grand jury subpoenas requiring witnesses to testify and seeking documents, according to an official familiar with the case. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, declined to identify who was served or specify what documents were wanted.

Madoff was subjected to electronic monitoring and a nighttime curfew earlier this week as angry investors who lost billions seek information about what happened to money they thought was safely invested with someone who was widely respected on Wall Street for nearly half a century.

The judge's order, agreed to by Madoff, demanded details of all assets, funds or property held by Madoff and the names and locations of entities, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, investments or assets held by his business, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.