US Treasury Likened to Madoff
The US Treasury has been likened to convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff for the way in which it has erfused to provide detailed information on its exposure to financial firms, through its $700bn Troubled Assets Relief Programme, or the full extent of its financial involvement in shoring up the wider economy.
The criticism came just a day after Neil Barofsky, the TARP’s special inspector general, estimated the Treasury’s exposure to programmes dealing with the financial crisis could be as much as $23.7 trillion.
Congressman Darrel Issa said that the way in which the Treasury continued to refuse to provide regular detailed information on the value of its investments in financial firms was akin to Madoff reassuring investors in his Ponzi sheme.

