A crisis gripping Goldman Sachs deepened today as Britain and Germany moved towards joining the US in pursuing a fraud investigation against the Wall Street bank for allegedly fiddling clients out of $1bn ($650m) through a misleading mortgage investment deal. Gordon Brown ordered a special investigation into Goldman, accusing the bank of "moral bankruptcy". He threatened to block multimillion-pound bonus payouts if the firm is found guilty of wrongdoing. In Berlin, Angela Merkel's government said it had sought information from the US Securities and Exchange Commission with a view to evaluating "legal steps" against Goldman.
A London-based Goldman Sachs director, Fabrice Tourre, who is accused of masterminding the fraud, is still working as usual, although efforts by Sunday newspapers to track the Frenchman down to his flat near Sadler's Wells theatre in north London were unsuccessful. A Goldman spokeswoman said: "He's still an employee. He hasn't been suspended."
The case against Goldman has sent a ripple through the financial services industry, with analysts predicting it could be the first of many against similarly structured mortgage instruments known as collateralised debt obligations. The SEC's action took place amid wrangling in Congress over an overhaul of Wall Street regulation, where Republicans object to the scope of moves proposed by the administration. Goldman could face fresh opprobrium on Tuesday, when it is due to publish its financial results for the first quarter of the year and is forecast to reveal revenue of more than $10bn – of which nearly $5bn could be earmarked for employee pay.
For more: Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel attack Goldman Sachs | Business | The Guardian
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