Post-Madoff, SEC 'ramps up' fraud training

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is "ramping up" its fraud training in the wake of its failure to detect the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, according to reports.

Reuters states that the regulator held the first in a series of workshops - entitled Basics of Ponzi schemes, affinity fraud and related schemes - on March 9th. Another 90-minute training session is scheduled for SEC staffers on March 23rd.

"The training will help examiners spot the 'yellow flags' of fraud and to investigate them using the latest fraud detection techniques," the director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, Lori Richards, told the news agency.

However, one anonymous SEC official had a more basic view of the motivation for the training: "We're doing it because of Bernie Madoff."

The training comes as SEC chairman Mary Schapiro, who took over at the regulator in January, looks to develop a better system for handling whistleblowers' tip-offs.

It follows claims from the whistleblower Harry Markopolos, who told a congressional committee that he had raised "dozens of red flags" about Mr Madoff's operation that were never pursued.