The judge overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff’s investment firm yesterday rejected requests by banks to keep secret the names of current and former employees mentioned in lawsuits seeking to recover improper profits tied to the imprisoned Ponzi schemer.

The public disclosure of names of workers affiliated with financial institutions including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and UBS was ordered by bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland.

The names appear in lawsuits filed by trustee Irving Picard, who is seeking to recover $100 billion. But the names were redacted from publicly distributed versions of the suits.