UPDATE 1-Madoff faces Wednesday deadline to meet bail terms

By Martha Graybow

NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Bernard Madoff, the suspected perpetrator of a $50 billion securities fraud that has hit investors worldwide, could find himself back in court on Wednesday if the conditions of his bail are not met.

Madoff, a Wall Street legend accused of defrauding banks, charities and rich individuals whose money he managed, was released on a $10 million bond by a federal magistrate judge in New York following his arrest on Thursday.

He had faced a deadline of Tuesday afternoon to get three co-signers to guarantee the bond, in addition to his wife, who has already signed it. That deadline was extended until Wednesday, according to a order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein.

As of Tuesday afternoon, only Madoff's brother, Peter, had also signed the bond. Co-signers pledge to be responsible for the bond if the defendant flees or otherwise violates bail.

"The defendant has requested additional time to meet the conditions," Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt wrote in a letter to the judge, a request that Gorenstein approved.

Any hearing on bail issues was adjourned to Wednesday afternoon in federal court in New York. A tentative hearing earlier had been set for Tuesday.

The bond is also to be secured by Madoff's Manhattan apartment, which the government said was valued at about $7 million. He also has been ordered to surrender his travel documents.

Madoff has been charged in a criminal complaint with one count of securities fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million if convicted.

He was arrested after his two sons told authorities that Madoff had confessed to fraud. The government contends that since 2005 Madoff had been running a Ponzi scheme, a scam in which early investors are paid off with money from later investors. (Reporting by Martha Graybow; editing by John Wallace)