Saturday, October 18, 2008

Financial Fraud, and law enforcement

Some parts of market design involve criminal law, and these depend for their effectiveness on law enforcement. The NY Times reports that the
F.B.I. Struggles to Handle Wave of Financial Fraud Cases

"The bureau slashed its criminal investigative work force to expand its national security role after the Sept. 11 attacks, shifting more than 1,800 agents, or nearly one-third of all agents in criminal programs, to terrorism and intelligence duties. Current and former officials say the cutbacks have left the bureau seriously exposed in investigating areas like white-collar crime...
"So depleted are the ranks of the F.B.I.’s white-collar investigators that executives in the private sector say they have had difficulty attracting the bureau’s attention in cases involving possible frauds of millions of dollars."

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