Senate to probe Madoff scandal January 27

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will hold a January 27 hearing to examine Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud, a committee aide said on Thursday.

This will be Congress' second look at how Madoff's brokerage firm allegedly defrauded sophisticated investors, charities and banks around the world. The House Financial Services Committee held a Madoff hearing earlier this month.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, and the panel's top Republican, Richard Shelby of Alabama, have already started looking at how regulators failed to detect the Madoff scandal.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and broker-dealer watchdog the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are being scrutinized after both failed to uncover Madoff's alleged fraud.

Dodd and Shelby have demanded a complete list of SEC and FINRA examinations and enforcement actions involving Madoff's firm. They have also asked for all internal SEC and FINRA e-mails that made references to the firm, as well as a list of any positions held by Madoff and others he employed through appointments by the SEC or FINRA.

The SEC's internal watchdog is examining the SEC's conduct in the Madoff case. Late on Wednesday, FINRA defended its role and said it did not have the authority to look at Madoff's investment advisory arm, which allegedly is where the fraud took place.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)