Neil Barofsky: Banks Scamming TARP

Maybe we should just let the banking system go down. To think that bankers would still find ways to scam is unconscionable. Neil Barofsky, the Obama appointed overseer of the TARP, released a report finding lots of room for abuse:

The top cop tracking the government's $700 billion bailout program said Tuesday that he has opened 20 criminal investigations and six audits into whether tax dollars are being pilfered or wasted.

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, released a 250-page report detailing a long list of concerns about government efforts to prop up hundreds of banks, Wall Street firms and auto companies.CNN

Meanwhile, Timothy Geithner is defending TARP:

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Bailout Recipients Subject to Criminal Penalties

LAT: Neil J. Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said his intent was to shed more light on the workings of the widely criticized program. He already has lobbied successfully to have all TARP award agreements and vendor contracts posted publicly online.

"We want to bring transparency to areas that previously were dark so the American people, who have invested so much, can see what's going on," Barofsky said.

He was to release a 188-page report today on his efforts since he was appointed two months ago. The report says Barofsky also will require senior bank executives to certify under criminal penalty their plans for complying with the executive pay limits that the Obama administration will impose on TARP recipients.
Read the executive pay rules here.