TARP - Troubled Asset Relief Program

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) is one of the companies managing the allocation of 700 billion U.S. dollars in TARP funds. SIGTARP has a Special Inspector General, Neil Barofsky, and on 21 April 2009 he issued a report to Congress on the criminal oversight of TARP.

Amazingly, the report noted that there already 20 criminal investigations and 6 tests look at TARP funds have been mismanagement. One of the tests looks at the crazyhigh premiums, which AIG and his colleagues have been sucking TARP. Other areas of investigation are:

- Use of funds from recipients
- Executive compensation checks
- Bank of America
- All influences on the treasury or bank regulatory authorities in determining applications for banks looking for TARP Funds

SIGTARP occurred in section 121 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), and gave him the forces already inSection 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, which includes the opportunity to documents and other information from federal authorities. Of course SIGTARP itself costs money, and it is under 50 million U.S. dollars by the Fed to carry out its mandate.

SIGTARP has an official mission, "SIGTARP's mission is to economic stability by promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of TARP capital management, transparency, through a coordinated control of advance, and by continuing to prosecute those whowhether inside or outside the government, waste, theft or misuse of TARP funds. "

SIGTARP is not alone, and works with the Financial Stability Oversight Board (FSOB), the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and a host of other federal entities.