http://www.nytimes.com/...
It looks like the SEC has some very tough competition.
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators responsible for oversight of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico allowed industry officials several years ago to fill in their own inspection reports in pencil — and then turned them over to the regulators, who traced over them in pen before submitting the reports to the agency, according to an inspector general’s report to be released this week.
How quaint. More Fraud.
In other words, "independent" audits by the Federal Government of a company were given over to the company to do - and the Feds automatically took them at their word and signed off on it.
If this isn't fraud I don't know what would be.
In mid-2008, a minerals agency employee conducted four inspections on drilling platforms when he was also negotiating a job with the drilling company.
Ho-kay. Just maybe a leeetle conflict of interest?
BP Guy: We have your resume and we're seriously considering you. Oh, by the way, we hope everything turns out ok on our inspection by you. We'd be very disappointed to find otherwise.
Inspector: I hear you.
BP Guy: (wink, wink, nudge nudge)
Inspector: (wink, wink, nudge nudge)
UPDATE:
Interview for position of Federal Auditor:
Interviewer: Here's a sheet of pieces of many types of handwritten numbers. We'd like to see how adept you are at tracing them. We're...uh...testing hand-eye coordination. You never know when you might need that.