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US hedge fund manager, Arthur Nadel, who went missing two weeks ago, turned himself in to the law enforcement authorities yesterday and was ordered to be held on securities and wire fraud charges until a bail hearing later this week, media reports said.

Mr Nadel fled after a partner in his firm told him that following the arrest of accused swindler Bernard Madoff in December, the funds should hire an independent accountant to audit the books, an FBI agent said in a court filing.

Mr Nadel, head of Scoop Management, based in
Sarasota,
Florida, was accompanied by two lawyers when he surrendered to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in

Tampa, an FBI spokesman said. He was led into a
Tampa courtroom in handcuffs and leg shackles for a brief appearance before a

US magistrate.

In a fraud complaint filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission last week, investigators said Mr Nadel had valued the six hedge funds he oversaw at more than $300 million when in reality they contained less than $1 million.

Mr Nadel was charged with securities fraud in

New York because he traded through a brokerage in the city.

The purported fraud is one of several that authorities have announced across the

US following the sharp decline in the fortunes of the financial industry.