WASHINGTON: The Federal Bureau of Investigation Thursday urged the victims of US financier Bernard Madoff's 50 billion dollar Wall Street scam to come forward and tell their story to federal police.

"If you believe that you have been a financial fraud victim in the Bernard L. Madoff matter, please contact us," the FBI said in a statement.

The bureau asked any potential fraud victims to email the FBI office at the following address: fbi@service.govdelivery.com.

Madoff, 70, was arrested a week ago and allegedly confessed to defrauding investors of 50 billion dollars in a scam that collapsed after clients asked for their money back due to the global financial crisis.

US authorities allege that Madoff delivered consistently strong returns to clients by secretly using the principal investment from new investors for payments to other investors in what is known as a "pyramid fraud".

Madoff avoided what would have been his first court appearance by agreeing to stringent restrictions under a 10-million dollar bail. These include home detention, a night-time curfew and electronic tagging.

His company, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC of New York, was put on sale on Monday.

- AFP/yt