Bernie Madoff has cited Scotland's controversial release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in court documents requesting clemency from his 150-year prison sentence on medical grounds.

The disgraced financier was jailed for fraud in 2009 after orchestrating the largest ponzi scheme in history.

However, he has now been given less than 18 months to live after suffering from terminal kidney failure and wants to "salvage" relationships with his grandchildren.

READ MORE: Madoff faces 150-year prison sentence after admitting fraud

Madoff’s attorney filed court papers saying the 81-year-old has end-stage kidney disease and other “chronic, serious medical conditions,” including hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

“There’s no cure for my type of disease,” Madoff told The Washington Post in a phone interview, expressing remorse for orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

“I’ve served 11 years already and, quite frankly, I’ve suffered through it,” he said.

Madoff’s motion mentions Scotland’s controversial release of Al-Megrahi, who was convicted in 2001 of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people.

Al-Megrahi was freed in 2009 on compassionate grounds and died of cancer in 2012, still protesting his innocence.

The US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment. Prosecutors are expected to file a motion in response to the request in the coming days.

Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal counts in a fraudulent investment scheme involving billions of dollars, admitting he swindled thousands of clients over decades.

The rich and famous were among his victims, as well as people of lesser means who had invested with him unknowingly through feeder funds.

The new court filings say Madoff was admitted in July to the palliative care unit of the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina.

“Madoff’s health has and will continue to deteriorate, and he will require more assistance physically and medically leading up to his death,” attorney Brandon Sample wrote.

READ MORE: Despite the recent banking scandals, corrupt practices are still continuing

A so-called compassionate release would allow Madoff to “receive end-of-life care in the community, which would be more efficient, timely, and less burdensome” on the US Bureau of Prisons, Mr Sample wrote.

The Bureau of Prisons denied Madoff’s request for release in December, according to court papers, saying it would “minimise the severity of his offence”.

The agency lists Madoff’s release date as November 14, 2139.