WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Neither Goldman Sachs Group
Inc nor its employees will face U.S. criminal charges
related to trades they made during the financial crisis that
were highlighted in a 2011 U.S. Senate report, the Justice
Department said on Thursday.
The unusual announcement not to prosecute criminally came in
an unsigned statement attributed to the department.
Few expected the bank to face criminal charges, but in April
2011, U.S. Senator Carl Levin asked for a criminal investigation
after the subcommittee he leads spent years looking into
Goldman.
Levin's subcommittee held televised hearings as part of its
inquiry, which centered on a subprime mortgage product known as
Abacus. He said Goldman misled Congress and investors.
Goldman employee Fabrice Tourre still faces a civil
complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He
has denied any wrongdoing and was the only person accused.
Goldman itself settled with the SEC for $550 million in July
2010 without admitting wrongdoing.
The statement from the Justice Department said that
officials there "have determined that, based on the law and
evidence as they exist at this time, there is not a viable basis
to bring a criminal prosecution with respect to Goldman Sachs or
its employees in regard to the allegations set forth in the
report" from Levin's subcommittee.
Justice Department investigators and prosecutors worked on
their inquiry for "more than a year," the statement said.
Those working on the inquiry included officials in the
department's Criminal Division and in the U.S. Attorney's Office
in Manhattan, the statement said.
They "ultimately concluded that the burden of proof to bring
a criminal case could not be met based on the law and facts as
they exist at this time," the statement continued.
"If any additional or new evidence emerges, today's
assessment does not prevent the department from reviewing such
evidence and making a different determination, if warranted,"
the statement said.
