Financier Rich has invested with Madoff: Bloomberg

BOSTON (Reuters) - Financier Marc Rich, who was pardoned by President Bill Clinton in 2001, invested with accused swindler Bernard Madoff, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

Rich and his firm, Marc Rich Group, "have an insignificant exposure held indirectly," the report quoted spokeswoman Monika Meili saying in an email. The exposure had "no material impact on the overall financial situation of the group," Meili was quoted as saying.

Rich, 74, fled the United States for Switzerland in 1983 while being prosecuted on charges of tax evasion and of illegally making oil deals with Iran. His ex-wife was a major donor to Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party.

Meili and officials of Rich's firm were not immediately available to comment.

Madoff is under house arrest and 24-hour surveillance at his $7 million Manhattan penthouse after authorities said he confessed to running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme over many years. He is charged with securities fraud.

A Ponzi scheme is one in which early investors are paid off with money from later investors.

(Reporting by Muralikumar Anantharaman, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)