Bernard Madoff's accountant has denied knowing about the multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme his former boss operated despite pleading guilty to fraud charges himself.
According to David Friehling, who worked on Madoff's books for 17 years, he was entirely unaware of what sort of activity Madoff was engaged in.
Speaking to Manhattan federal court he said: "At no time was I aware that Mr Madoff was engaged in a Ponzi scheme. I never had contact with investors and never acted as a feeder to investors."
However, he did admit a range of charges relating to tax law violations, investment adviser fraud, securities fraud and making false statements to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Preet Bharara, the US state attorney for Manhattan, thinks Friehiling's co-operation should help investigators discover who else was involved in helping Madoff run his Ponzi fund.
Friehling remains on bail and will be sentenced in the new year.
Earlier this week, Madoff claimed that he would have been caught sooner if SEC had asked the right questions during earlier investigations.
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