Samenvatting

This article focuses on the Madoff case which came to light at the end of 2008. Remarkable for this case is that Madoff could go on with his scam for a very long time. Failing supervision was not the only reason for this. Madoff’s qualities – disguising the illegal activities and his social stature – cannot explain the whole puzzle. The social network, a ‘secret society’ and the fact that people involved went on with it, even when knowing that ‘it was too good to be true’ are explained in this article.