Goldman Sachs is under Criminal investigation for the way in which it sold complex mortgage-backed products to clients, reports suggest.
BBC News
April 30, 2010
Earlier this month, the US financial regulator brought civil charges against the bank for defrauding investors.
It alleged that Goldman failed to disclose a conflict of interest, in that a firm advising it on a product was betting it would decline in value.
Goldman denies the accusations and said it was “not surprised” by the reports.
“Given the recent focus on the firm, we are not surprised by the report of a [criminal] inquiry. We would fully co-operate with any requests for information,” a Goldman spokesperson told the AFP news agency.
‘Burden of proof’
The investigation is being run from the US Attorney’s office in New York, according to reports.
To file charges, prosecutors would have to gather evidence that company employees knowingly broke the law.
The burden of proof is higher than in the civil case brought earlier this month by the Securities Exchange Commission, says the BBC’s Steve Kingstone in Washington.
Goldman executives were grilled earlier this week by a US Senate panel.
They were criticised for selling – and profiting from – complex derivatives based on mortgage investments that they knew were very risky, spreading the financial crisis. …
Holding business responsible for its actions is at last catching up with the America citizen who has always been responsible for his/her actions.
There has been significant “looking the other way” at legal infractions by the business-centric neocons. And some businesses took advantage of the neocons “management” style.
There did not appear to be much legal risk involved in hiring cheaper illegal immigrant labor – so business hired illegal immigrants.
There did not appear to be much oversight in the food safety category so contaminated peanuts were being prepared for market.
There did not appear to be much risk in using businesses’ facilities to illegally spy on Americans if high ranking American officials asked business to do so. So, business spied on America.
There was a time, long ago, when America’s citizens could synchronize their “citizenship clocks” to the “citizenship clocks” of America’s businesses. But the neocons have relaxed government oversight of business to the point where it might not be legally safe for America’s citizens to behave as business does.
The neocons handled the “rule of law” in their own way. Fortunately, for America, the United States Supreme Court, at that time, protected America’s interests in a way that America understood.
Returning America’s businesses to the idea of responsible behavior may not be easy. Once “addicted” to the “anything goes” behavior – it may be a difficult task to voluntarily withdraw.
The neocons are still IN-DENIAL of a problem with America’s economy or America’s businesses. They fight to retain the status quo. The Obama administration has to fight the neocons and terrorists while making the decisions that will, in time, bring America back to normal.
The neocons, with one exception, are in a class by themselves.
Tags: civil charges, criminal investigation, goldman sachs, mortgage backed products
