Appeals court refuses Madoff bail

NEW YORK: A US appeals court on Friday denied bail to Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff, who is in jail awaiting sentencing for massive fraud.

A spokeswoman for the US Court of Appeals in New York said a three-judge panel "affirmed the decision" made last week by a separate court to detain Madoff prior to his June 16 sentencing.

The decision came 24 hours after Madoff's lawyers argued at the appeals court that the one-time Wall Street star should be allowed back to his Manhattan apartment on bail.

Madoff was taken into custody last week after confessing to 11 counts of fraud, money laundering, perjury and theft. He faces a sentence of up to 150 years in prison.

His attorneys argued that Madoff was highly unlikely to flee or to commit further harm to the community, the chief criteria for whether or not a defendant can be allowed bail.

Prosecutors said that he should not be granted bail because he might try to escape abroad before sentencing, particularly as he is almost sure to be condemned to life behind bars.

Madoff was arrested December 11 after confessing to running a giant Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars.

Before his guilty plea last week, Madoff had lived with his wife Ruth in their seven-million-dollar Manhattan apartment under tight bail conditions. He surrendered his passport and was confined to his home, with 24-hour surveillance.

He is now held in correctional center in downtown Manhattan.