Wall Street Financial Investigations Defended by Holder
Posted By Admin on April 29, 2011
US prosecutors are continuing to
review the conduct of Wall Street firms to determine whether any
crimes were committed related to the US financial crisis,
Attorney General Eric Holder said.
“There is certainly a basis for us to look, as we are, at
some actions that were taken by some institutions and by some
individuals,” Holder said today at a news conference in
Washington. “Whether those will result in prosecutable cases, I
don’t know.”
Holder, who didn’t name any firms or individuals under
investigation, made the comments in response to questions from
reporters. The Justice Department has faced criticism from
lawmakers over why no senior Wall Street executives have been
charged in connection with the crisis.
Holder said prosecutors “want to make these cases to the
extent that they can.”
The Justice Department ended a criminal investigation of
former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer
Angelo Mozilo without bringing any charges, a person familiar
with the matter said in February. The FBI started a probe of
possible securities fraud at the mortgage lender in 2008, people
familiar with the case said at the time.
Federal prosecutors also ended a criminal investigation of
American International Group Inc. (AIG) executive Joseph Cassano,
related to the insurer’s collapse, without bringing charges, a
person familiar with that case said last year.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Justin Blum in Washington at
jblum4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mark Silva at
msilva34@bloomberg.net
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