An investor with Ariel Fund Limited has filed a proposed securities class action lawsuit in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, on behalf of all persons who invested in Ariel Fund Limited during the period December 22, 2003, through and including December 16, 2008 against the Ariel Fund Limited and others over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws.

According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges that Ariel Fund Limited, Gabriel Capital Corporation, J. Ezra Merkin, Fortis Bank (Cayman) Ltd., Fortis Prime Solutions (Cayman) Ltd., Fortis Bank, Fortis Prime Solutions (USA) LLC, BDO Tortuga, and BDO International violated Federal securities laws by issuing to the investing public false and misleading information and financial statements concerning, among other things, the Fund’s reported net asset value, the manner in which the Ariel Fund’s assets were invested, the extent of the defendants’ due diligence of Madoff and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC, and the true state of supervision and oversight over the Fund’s assets. The case arises from a massive, fraudulent ponzi scheme by Bernard L. Madoff through his investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC and others. The plaintiff accuses that the defendants caused and permitted 24 percent of Ariel Fund’s total assets to be handed over to Madoff to be “invested” for the benefit of plaintiff and the Class and that the plaintiff’s investments with Ariel Fund were decimated as a direct result of the fraud perpetrated by Madoff and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and the complete failure of BDO Tortuga and BDO International to perform adequate audits and create its annual audit reports in conformance with generally accepted auditing standards despite the existence of a myriad of “red flags” indicating a high risk to Ariel Fund from concentrating its investment exposure in Madoff.