NCJ Number
97997
Date Published
1984
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This 1984 hearing before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee heard testimony from one speaker about H.R. 5405, a bill designed to close some gaps in Federal criminal laws relating to financial bribery and fraud in banking operations.
Abstract
The bill would amend current law with regard to bribery and would create a new crime of financial fraud. It would proscribe all payments intended to influence an officer or employee of a financial institution in making a discretionary decision or to induce such a person to violate a duty. Thus, it does not prohibit the receipt of a gift given to encourage an officer or employee to fulfill legal or fiduciary duties. The Federal Code would also be amended to prohibit payments made to an officer or employee of a financial institution as a reward for violating a duty or taking discretionary action in a particular manner. The section would require that such payments be in money or its equivalent or else have a value greater than $100. The bill would include all institutions in which the Federal Government has a significant interest. A new section of the Federal Code would prohibit fraud to obtain money or inflict a financial loss on a financial institution. The Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division of the Justice Department, praised the goal of the legislation while recommending several changes as well as a new section. Recommended changes included punishing bribery and graft equally, broadening the fraud law, and adding another section dealing with the receipt of stolen bank property. The witness's prepared testimony and the text of the bill are included.