Treasury Sec. Nominee Lew Under Fire for Cayman Islands Investments

Treasury Sec. Nominee Lew Under Fire for Cayman Islands Investments
on Sat, 9 Feb 2013



Senate Republicans may question Jack Lew, the former Budget director whom President Barack Obama has nominated to be his next Treasury secretary, about investments he made in a Cayman Islands fund during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

The fund in question is located in the infamous "Ugland House," which Obama called out for hosting numerous tax scams and havens.

Though the White House has said the investments have been previously disclosed, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have said Republicans vetting Lew have noted "there are concerns" with Lew's Cayman Islands investments.

The White House continues to insist that Lew "paid all of his taxes and reported all of the income, gains and losses from the investment on his tax returns," and that this information is not news.

The investment in question is a " Citigroup employee investment fund called Citigroup Venture Capital International Growth Partnership II." The address for the fund, in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, is listed as "South Church Street, Ugland House, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Island.'"

As Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) noted, Obama has criticized such investments and once called "Ugland House" one of the biggest tax scams on record during the 2008 campaign.

"That makes this Cayman Islands investment of his top official and now Treasury secretary nominee worthy of attention," Grassley said.