Suspicions of insider trading at Goldman Sachs
April 24, 2010
The clouds are gathering over Goldman Sachs. After the announcement of a complaint by shareholders against the directors, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Saturday that five of them have sold their shares after the bank had been informed that an investigation by the SEC, the U.S. stock Constable , was the establishment. They have sold their shares at a purchase price of $ 65.4 million (48.9 million euros).
The Wall Street Journal, officials have sold the shares in question are of a general counsels, two vice-presidents, one of the accountants and a member of the board of directors.
The sales took place between October 2009 and February 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website, citing the company InsiderScore.com, which presents itself as an observatory of insider stock transactions.Some months earlier, in July 2009, the SEC had informed the bank that it was considering legal action against them.
On April 16, the day the SEC announced it had filed a complaint for fraud against Goldman Sachs in the civil courts, as the Goldman Sachs lost 13% of its value on the NYSE. A fall that had continued throughout the week.
To prove his good faith
The announcement comes as Goldman Sachs is preparing his hearing Tuesday before the Parliament. According to a document of 11 pages that she purchased the Washington Post, executives at Goldman Sachs who will testify alongside Fabrice Tourre want to demonstrate their good faith in this matter.
Before the Senate subcommittee investigation on the financial crisis, they will indicate that they do not know if housing prices would increase or decrease when the product under investigation, the Abacus, was sold. The document describes the debate that animated the leaders of investment banking in 2006 and 2007. As proof, the bank will provide the e-mails on the subject by the leaders.
Nuisance emails
Their testimony should however be undermined by embarrassing e-mails released by a Senate committee on Saturday. According to the messages exchanged, the bank would have otherwise benefited from the mortgage risk to pocket tens of millions of dollars.
In one of these messages, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, wrote: "We obviously have not escaped the bedlam of subprime mortgage.We lost money and then we have won more than we lost through our short position. In another mail, the manager assess the consequences of failing grades assigned by rating agencies, subprime, "like we're going to make much money," wrote one of them. "Yes, we are well positioned", replied his colleague.
"Investment banks like Goldman Sachs did not just brokers, they were interested developers of risky and complex financial products that led to the outbreak of the crisis," says Carl Levin, chairman of the Sub-Commission Standing Senate investigation, which will face the leaders of theBankis Tuesday.
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