Feds Raid Caterpillar

According to multiple press reports (two links below), three Caterpillar Inc. facilities in Peoria were raided today by U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of Illinois along with three other federal agencies: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation office of inspector general, the Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation division and the Department of Commerce office of export enforcement.

Apparently Caterpillar’s headquarters in Peoria, along with facilities in East Peoria and Morton, Ill. were raided. 

Speculation is the raid involved investigations going back to at least 2014 regarding the movement of cash between Cat’s U.S. and foreign subsidiaries. The company has received subpoenas for information on its purchases and resale of replacement parts, and its dividend payments made between various foreign subsidiaries.

Caterpillar later issued a short comment saying, “On March 2, 2017, law enforcement authorities entered three Peoria-area Caterpillar Inc. facilities, including the corporate headquarters, to execute a search and seizure warrant. The warrant is focused on the collection of documents and electronic information. Caterpillar is cooperating with law enforcement.

“While the warrant is broadly drafted, we believe the execution of this search warrant is regarding, among other things, export filings that relate to the CSARL matter first disclosed in Caterpillar’s Form 10-K filed on February 17, 2015, and updated in Caterpillar’s most recent Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 15, 2017.”

For more information:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-caterpillar-probe-idUSKBN1692GI

https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2017/03/02/caterpillars-headquarters-raided-by-federal-authorities-including-doj-and-irs/#99273b56f3a4

http://www.pjstar.com/news/20170302/law-enforcement-officials-searching-caterpillar-offices