Democratic and Republican Lawmakers Criticize Justice Department in Probe of French Bank

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 10 — Democratic and Republican lawmakers criticized the Justice Department Thursday for failing to prosecute a French bank for its secret purchase of a California-based life insurance company a decade ago.

Lawmakers speaking at a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee also urged the Justice Department not to negotiate a lenient settlement with Credit Lyonnais, which California officials allege defrauded 300,000 insurance policyholders of the Executive Life Insurance Co.

Although federal prosecutors in Los Angeles recommended indictments against Credit Lyonnais in April 2001, Justice officials apparently are in negotiations with the bank for a financial settlement with no criminal penalties or impairment of its ability to run banking operations in the United States, said Rep. Doug Ose, R-Calif.

Referring to policyholders who are calling for prosecution, Ose said, "Why is the Department of Justice ignoring their pleas?"

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., also has questioned the efforts of French government officials and an American lobbyist with close ties to the Bush administration. George Terwilliger, a deputy attorney general under President George H.W. Bush and a member of the current president's legal team in the Florida presidential election dispute in 2000, represents Credit Lyonnais.

The Justice Department refused to participate in the hearing, citing an ongoing criminal investigation.

Acting through a front company, Credit Lyonnais won control of the assets of the insolvent Executive Life. At the time, federal law barred a bank from owning an insurance company. California law prohibits a foreign government from owning an insurance company.

After the takeover, Credit Lyonnais sold the company's junk bond portfolio at a profit of at least $2 billion, lawmakers said.

Policyholders include more than 5,000 physically impaired people dependent on annuities from the life insurance company. The annuities were slashed after the French bank bought the assets.

The lawmakers should be asking why federal prosecutors didn't look into this fraud during the eight years of the Clinton administration. The Justice Department is a little busy right now with the crackdown on terrorism, but at least they're investigating.

I'm just curious whether the administration is holding this prosecution in their hip pocket waiting to see what the French do in the UN security council on the resolutions against Iraq. If they don't play ball, I hope we yank Credit Lyonnais' banking license so this state owned French bank can no longer do business in the US.

Before Waxmann gets too spun up, someone should tell him that it was a Democrat CA insurance commissioner who approved the purchase of Executive Life by the French investment group that later turned out to be a front for the French bank Credit Lyonnais.

P.S.: My father was one of the Executive Life policyholders affected by this -- fortunately, not one of the disabled annuitants mentioned in the article.

Leon Black is involved. AT least $42,000 in pure Democrat donations (is Senator Rockefeller Repub?), for the finest political whores money can buy(last item is not the Leon Black we care about):

Contributions from individuals whose name begins with [ black, leon ]
24 records found in the 02 database.

BLACK, LEON
2/20/02 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
LION ADVISORS -[Contribution]
TORRICELLI FOR U S SENATE INC
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
12/17/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO ADVISORS -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF SENATOR CARL LEVIN
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
12/17/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO ADVISORS -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF SENATOR CARL LEVIN
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
3/15/02 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO ADVISORS -[Contribution]
TIM JOHNSON FOR SOUTH DAKOTA INC
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
2/20/02 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
LION ADVISORS -[Contribution]
TORRICELLI FOR U S SENATE INC
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
10/9/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF MAX CLELAND FOR THE US SENATE INC
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
3/27/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO ADVISORS -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF MARY LANDRIEU INC
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
12/27/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
LION ADVISORS -[Contribution]
STRICKLAND FOR COLORADO INC
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON
12/27/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
LION ADVISORS -[Contribution]
STRICKLAND FOR COLORADO INC
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
9/20/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
LION ADVISORS -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF SENATOR ROCKEFELLER
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
4/12/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO MANAGEMENT -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF DICK DURBIN COMMITTEE
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
5/10/02 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
APOLLO MANAGEMENT -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF DICK DURBIN COMMITTEE
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
11/21/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
APOLLO MANAGEMENT -[Contribution]
REED COMMITTEE
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
9/20/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
LION ADVISORS -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF SENATOR ROCKEFELLER
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
6/29/01 $20,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
LION ADVISORS LP -[Contribution]
DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
[View Image]

BLACK, LEON D
6/7/02 $1,000.00
BEDFORD HILLS, NY 10507
APOLLO MANAGEMENT LP -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF SCHUMER
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
6/29/01 $20,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10019
LION ADVISORS LP -[[Receipt--exempt from limits]]
DSCC/NON-FED UNINCORP ASSOC
[View Image]

BLACK, LEON D
6/7/02 $1,000.00
BEDFORD HILLS, NY 10507
APOLLO MANAGEMENT LP -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF SCHUMER
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON D
5/24/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
INVESTMENT FUND MANAGER -[Contribution]
FRIENDS OF MAX BAUCUS 2002
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

Black, Leon D.
12/26/01 $2,000.00
New York, NY 10021
Lion Advisors LP/Partner -[Contribution]
DEDICATED AMERICANS FOR THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE PAC(DASHPAC)
[View Image]

BLACK, LEON DAVID
2/27/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO MANAGENT -[Contribution]
KERRY COMMITTEE
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

BLACK, LEON DAVID
2/27/01 $1,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10021
APOLLO MANAGENT -[Contribution]
KERRY COMMITTEE
Senate Image Not Available from FEC

Black, Leon Mr.
4/18/02 $1,000.00
New York, NY 10021
Apollo Management/Financier -[Contribution]
COMMITTEE TO ELECT ARTUR DAVIS TO CONGRESS
[View Image]

Black, Leonard J.
6/12/02 $500.00
Waldo, AR 71770
Retired -[Contribution]
MIKE ROSS FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE
[View Image]

Time of this request: 10/10/02 4:56:35 PM

Yup, you and NativeNewYorker are right about the Leon Black connection. I found a press release from the CA attorney general's office announcing that Leon Black and others had been added to the state's lawsuit against Credit Lyonnais.

For anyone interested, here's the link: Attorney General Lockyer Expands Lawsuit Alleging Conspiracy to Raid Executive Life. An excerpt:

SACRAMENTO) - Attorney General Bill Lockyer today added four associates from former junk bond purveyor Drexel Burnham Lambert to a lawsuit alleging an international conspiracy used to illegally acquire assets held by the state and reap billions of dollars from the State of California and policyholders in the wake of the failure of Executive Life Insurance Co.

The complaint filed earlier against more than a dozen companies and individuals, including Credit Lyonnais, a bank once owned by the French government, was amended Wednesday to include Leon Black, John Hannan, Craig Cogut, Eric B. Siegel and several companies they operated in the alleged scheme

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