Was Goldman Sachs complicit in the alleged criminal wrongdoing of ex-executives or merely a bit sloppy in establishing sufficient internal controls to routinely keep high-ranking employees lawfully in check?
That is the key question spotlighted in a high-profile investigation of one of the world’s leading financial firms. A recent Bloomberg article stresses that the company “could be in big trouble” if Federal Reserve investigators uncover information that reasonably points to unlawful conduct committed by the firm in overseas dealings.
The Fed’s probe could result in civil action taken against Goldman. If evidence concerning allegations of former employees’ bribery of foreign officials and money laundering reasonably links to formal company involvement, the firm could be slapped with huge fines. It could also lose lucrative business opportunities involving representation of investment funds owned by foreign governments.
The current matter focuses squarely on just such a fund, with regulators asserting that the above-cited former employees laundered money through a Malaysian sovereign fund. Those individuals were targeted in an earlier federal criminal probe, which yielded multiple indictments.
Goldman has understandably been rocked by the scandal. The company’s stock has been downgraded in its wake, and Goldman shares have plummeted over the past month.
The case illustrates the material challenges that business firms can easily face when allegations of wrongdoing emerge against select employees. It may well be the case in the current matter that a Goldman lapse pertained only to a glitch in its compliance systems that was exploited by the aforementioned employees.
Companies of all stripes operating in Texas and beyond can become targets in civil and criminal white collar probes. They can gain confidence by facing those challenges with help from an experienced criminal defense law firm having a demonstrated record of client advocacy in such matters.
