FBI investigating major US companies for fraud
Radio Netherlands
Published: Wednesday 24 September 2008 07:41 UTC
Last updated: Wednesday 24 September 2008 07:41 UTC
In the United States, the FBI has launched an investigation into suspected fraud at four major financial institutions. News channel CNN says the recently bankrupted Lehman Brothers company, the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae and insurance firm AIG are all under scrutiny.
The aims of the FBI investigation include finding out whether the companies made themselves out to be in sounder financial shape than was the case. All four institutions were recently hit by the global credit crisis.
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke are pushing Congress to speed up approval of a rescue package for the financial markets. The administration in Washington wants to pump 700 billion dollars into the financial system, but Congress is not convinced the plan is sound.
The credit crisis is also on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly. At the opening, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on members states not only to consider their national interests but also the UN's Millennium Development Goals. These include halving world poverty by 2015.
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