"In the [Fed’s gigantic Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF for short] program alone, it appears that the Fed provided loans to over 100 separate hedge funds, offshore funds, and other investment funds that are located in the Cayman Islands and other notorious tax haven countries…It has been estimated that each year corporations and wealthy individuals avoid approximately $100 billion in U.S. taxes through the use of abusive and illegal tax shelters."
(One minor quibble with the above paragraph – the Cayman Islands and other tax havens are not strictly speaking independent countries. Many tax havens are in fact “overseas territories,” or colonies, of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.)
Senator Sanders then asks three questions:
"How much money did the Fed lend to each of these firms and how much did each of them profit or lose as a result?
"Why would the Fed lend to material investors located in the Cayman Islands?"
"In how many other instances did the Fed lend emergency money to individuals or entities located in the Cayman Islands or other tax haven countries?"
Attached to the letter, you will find a three page list of Cayman Island entities that Senator Sanders claims received Fed assistance through TALF. These entities have exotic-sounding names like "Aladdin," "Galaxite," "Royal Palm" and "Obsidian."
Bailouts for well connected friends of the banking elite ... The Fed must be audited in full with no restrictions
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