American authorities have seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's Palm Beach mansion, his vintage yacht and a smaller boat as part of an effort to recoup assets to pay back investors he swindled.

Earlier in the day, Golden said Madoff’s 17m yacht Bull and a 7.3m motor boat were taken from marinas on Florida’s east coast. The yacht, a 1969 Rybovich, is worth US$2.2 million. “A lot of money was ...