The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether Goldman Sachs and several other financial companies violated bribery laws in their dealings with Libya's sovereign-wealth fund, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cites people familiar with the matter.
SEC enforcement officials are specifically reviewing documents to examine the relationships between the firms and the Libyan Investment Authority controlled by Muammar el-Qaddafi.
One such dealing is a $50 million fee Goldman had initially agreed to pay the sovereign-wealth fund, but the payment was never made as discussions stalled right before violence erupted in Libya earlier this year.
Still, the company is not exempt from the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans companies from not only paying bribes to foreign government officials, but also just offering to do so.
Carlyle Group, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, JPMorgan Chase and several other companies are also being scrutinized by SEC enforcement lawyers for their dealings with the Libyan Investment Authority, according to the newspaper.
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