US SEC fumbled 5 Madoff probes, report finds

WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. securities regulators fumbled five probes of Bernard Madoff's operations and missed opportunities to uncover the financier's $65 billion investment fraud, a report by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's inspector general said on Wednesday.

The SEC received more than ample information over the years to warrant a thorough and comprehensive examination or investigation of Madoff and his firm, the report said.

But despite three examinations and two investigations, no thorough probe was ever performed, SEC Inspector General David Kotz said in his report. (Reporting by Ross Kerber, Jonathan Stempel and Rachelle Younglai, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)