Riggs Bank Regulator Turned Official Didn't Violate Conflict Of Interest Rules
A federal probe has concluded that a former examiner with the Treasury's Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency who took a position with Riggs Bank did not
violate rules on conflicts of interest. The investigation of Robert Ashley Lee was launched at the request of Senate
Banking Committee members when Mr Lee retired from his role with the banking
agency (at which he had been lead examiner of Riggs) in 2002, and then almost
immediately took a job with the bank. However, according to a document seen by the Associated Press, the Treasury
Department's Office of the Inspector General stated that: "We found no evidence to suggest Lee had improperly entered into negotiations
with Riggs Bank while an employee of the OCC. Nor did we find any other criminal
violations by Lee for attending meetings between OCC and Riggs Bank as a Riggs
official." In 2004, the OCC imposed a $25 million civil fine on the bank for violating
US anti-money laundering laws. Riggs subsequently pleaded guilty to criminal
charges of failing to report suspicious transactions undertaken by several of
its high profile foreign customers, including former Chilean dictator Augusto
Pinochet. .
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTICE: THE LOWTAX NETWORK has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site copyright THE LOWTAX NETWORK 1999 to 2009. Contact us for further information.