Years of evidence and negotiated admissions on rampant money laundering, price fixing, insider trading, breach of trust and epic financial plundering of households, pensions, cities, states, trusts and foundations have all, so far, been widely tolerated. But incontrovertible evidence of flagrantly facilitating and profiting from systemic tax evasion may finally be a step too far… After all, it did take proof of tax evasion to finally jail Al Capone. It also took admission of tax evasion by Charles Mitchell under cross-examination by Ferdinand Pecora in 1933 to finally knock the head of City Bank from his undeserved position of privilege and reverence in American society. The statements by Credit Suisse today feigning remorse and insisting that the actors involved were rogue or fringe is utterly laughable on the evidence of secret elevators, offices and clandestine meetings with hundreds of bank officers over many years.
Another possible chink in the normal political forbearance on financial crimes, is that today’s hearing on the criminal activities of Credit Suisse is not taking place before the heavily funded, cozy colleagues on the Senate Banking and Finance Committee, but rather before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Homeland Security and Governmental affairs Committee. We shall see…
No one should be under any misunderstanding: rampant financial crimes are one of the most dominant issues undermining Homeland Security in our time.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) held a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Permanent Investigations hearing on offshore tax evasion. Witnesses included officials from Credit Suisse Group AG and the Justice Department. Watch it live here.
As you listen to the session, keep in mind, that no effective or serious cross-examination can take place unless the questioners have already done their research in advance and know in detail the answers to the questions they put forth in the public hearing. Only in this way is it possible to hold witnesses accountable and elicit meaningful answers from those who routinely feign lack of direct knowledge on the topics in question. Senators who ask open questions and use the hearing to “learn” about the actors and events are useless at uncovering truth in this forum.
You can read a copy here of the full 175 page Senate Subcommittee report on how the second largest Swiss bank Credit Suisse allowed up to 22,000 Americans to avoid paying taxes for years.
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