Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bernard Madoff’s U.K. operations, which managed his family’s personal fortune, will be investigated to determine if any crime was committed in the country, a spokesman for the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office said.

The agency, which is responsible for prosecuting complex financial crimes, started the probe this week, spokesman David Jones said in a telephone interview. The investigation follows a report given to the SFO yesterday by the accounting firm that has taken over Madoff Securities International Ltd.

Other European nations have also begun probes into Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud. Paris prosecutors yesterday said they were reviewing whether French investors who lost money were victims of a crime.

“It is hard to speculate what has made the SFO jump in on this,” Jeremy Cole, a fraud lawyer at London law firm Lovells, said in a telephone interview. “It does suggest that there is some separate angle within the U.K.”

Madoff was arrested on Dec. 11 and charged with securities fraud in a federal court in New York after allegedly telling his sons his investment-advisory business was a Ponzi scheme, in which early investors were paid with money from later participants. Madoff, 70, is free on bail and hasn’t formally responded to the charges or entered a plea.

A spokesman for Madoff in London didn’t immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.

‘Early Action’

“The public say they want us to take early action and this is what we are doing,” SFO Director Richard Alderman said in an e-mailed statement. “We will work closely with other law enforcement agencies to discover the truth behind the collapse of these huge financial structures.”

Tony Woodcock, a fraud lawyer at Stephenson Harwood in London, said the SFO may have acted quickly on the information provided by Grant Thornton because they have “documents to safeguard and swift arrests to make.”

Luxembourg’s market regulator said yesterday that it continues to investigate locally-registered funds exposed to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, while the Irish financial regulator said it was working with funds exposed to the alleged scam. German regulators have said they are working with officials in other countries.

The SFO decided to open the probe after reading a report prepared by the Madoff Securities International administrators, Grant Thornton U.K. LLP. Grant Thornton spokesman Simon Rothschild said in a telephone interview that the accounting firm issued a report to the SFO. He refused to comment further.

Madoff U.K. Transfers

Madoff transferred about $165 million into Britain from the U.S. by buying new shares sold by Madoff Securities International, his London-based unit, regulatory filings show.

Madoff bought 6.25 million shares of Madoff Securities International for $10 each in September 2007 to replace a $62.5 million subordinated loan. On Oct. 29, he acquired almost 50 million shares in Madoff Securities International for 1 pound each.

The SFO’s Jones said he was unaware of the transactions.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Lumley in London at jlumley1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 8, 2009 13:15 EST