In the office of the team leader of Investigation Team 13, Elr looked at Luo An with an eager face.
Luo An did not agree to Elr's request imdiately. After thinking for a few seconds, he said:
"Why has the Ponzi sche set up by Bernard Madoff not been exposed for so long?"
Elr's expression tensed, as a thought crossed his mind:
"Do you an to say, that there are people behind Bernard Madoff?"
Luo An shook his head and said:
"It's not necessarily that he has people backing him, but rather that so people have seen through it and chose not to expose it, playing this 'ga' together with Bernard Madoff."
Anyone with experience in the finance industry could tell there was sothing wrong with the returns that Bernard Madoff's funds were generating. To say that those wealthy tycoons and conglorates on Wall Street couldn't see it was simply impossible.
"I think so too."
Elr said solemnly:
"Madoff's foundation has investnts from nurous major conglorates, big banks, and even so countries in Europe have put money into it.
That's why I chose to investigate this matter in secret, not daring to reveal the slightest bit of information."
Setting down his coffee cup, Luo An asked:
"What was your initial plan? Would you mind sharing it?"
"I haven't thought of a suitable plan yet."
Elr replied with a wry smile on his face:
"At first, I wanted to find a suitable tax reason to openly investigate the financial situation of any employee under Madoff's foundation.
Then 'accidentally' discover problems with Madoff's fund, and continue to follow the trail upward to expose this affair."
Elr is a quintessential federal agent who values his life and his family's safety. Yet, deep down, his conscience wouldn't allow him to quietly watch nearly thirty thousand middle-class families be ruined by Madoff's sche. This inner conflict troubled Elr greatly.
Luo An frowned slightly:
"Your plan..."
"Is it very dangerous?"
Elr chuckled bitterly and shook his head helplessly:
"I know, this approach could easily alert Madoff, or even compel him to commit murder..."
Luo An waved his hand to cut off Elr's words, saying:
"No, my point is, your plan is too slow."
"?"
Elr, with a look of confusion covering his face, froze in his chair:
"What do you an?"
"Before exposing Madoff's sche, we need to first clarify a few issues."
Luo An did not answer Elr directly, but took his coffee cup and analyzed leisurely:
"The reason why Madoff's sche has lasted so long is not only because of his high status and clever thods but also because the Securities and Exchange Commission turned a blind eye, and certain conglorates or organizations participated.
These conglorates sit back and let Madoff make money for them; they are not worried about not getting their money back.
Once you expose this fraud, it won't be just Madoff who gets angry; those behind-the-scenes conglorates will be upset too. After all, for them, not making money is akin to losing money."
It is well-known what a powerful status the conglorates hold within the federation. Elr's expression turned grave, and Luo An continued his analysis:
"Based on your previous plan, by the ti you get to Madoff himself, those conglorates would likely already have been tipped off and would have moved their funds.
In the end, you would only be left with an empty account, and not a single cent from the investnts of those nearly thirty thousand middle-class families would remain.
If this were to happen, the federal public would naturally curse Madoff, and as the main orchestrator of this case, you would also be reviled by the federal public. They would think you were one of those conglorates, working only for their profit."
"When you can't provide an explanation, colleagues and superiors will likely have other thoughts about you, and your path to advancent will probably co to a halt."
"..."
Elr's eyelid twitched uncontrollably. Until now, he had been thinking about how to bring down Madoff, but hadn't really considered what would happen after Madoff was taken down.
Compared to other departnts, the IRS holds a unique position, which makes the IRS-CI's thods sowhat blunt and straightforward—most of the ti, they arrest people first, then investigate the accounts and gather evidence, and finally interrogate them.
As such, Elr wasn't particularly familiar with handling intricate cases. After all, specialization is essential. Seeing Luo An's composed deanor, he hurriedly asked:
"Luo An, do you have any good thods?"
"It's simple."
Luo An didn't hold back and spoke directly:
"Grow the cake, seek strong support, act quickly."
The relationship between federal officials and the wealthy is interesting—most of the ti, people will say that a tycoon persuaded an official with money rather than that a tycoon ordered an official around.
That's because federal officials have an unspoken red line well-understood by all: they are the ones in possession of power. They can be swayed, but the wealthy must offer sothing in return.
This is why there are so many "lobbying groups" in Washington D.C:
The folks in Congress and the White House are the ones holding power. The wealthy outsiders and financial conglorates can indeed push for legislation and regulations beneficial to them, but such processes must co with a "price" or "benefit."
If a wealthy individual attempts to break this rule and directly "command" soone in power, they will inevitably be attacked by other powerholders, as it touches upon the powerholders' bottom line.
Madoff was indeed very rich, and there were many reasons to support and help him, but most of his supporters were on Wall Street, not in Washington D.C.
Involving a 50 billion US Dollar Ponzi sche, there's no doubt that this was a major case. Handling it properly would undoubtedly be a great achievent, even the FBI Director Robert or the IRS Commissioner wouldn't mind appearing to support this case.
"We need to find an officer of so rank who is lacking accomplishnts."
A glint of brilliance flashed in Luo An's eyes, and he spoke with gravity:
"You'll directly raid Madoff's company, take him away, and completely freeze his bank accounts at the sa ti.
The officer will withstand the pressure from the financial consortiums, quickly interrogate Madoff to obtain his confession, and then return the funds in the accounts to all the victims at once, instead of letting the consortiums take all the money.
In the end, Madoff goes to prison, the officer gains accomplishnts and reputation, the consortiums don't make a profit but don't lose either, middle-class families lose so money but still have sothing left—they will curse Madoff, but won't vilify you, the lead investigator, as the cake is just about enough to go around."
As long as the financial consortiums exist, it would be impossible for those middle-class families duped to recover all their funds. Getting so of it back was the best outco Luo An could think of.
After hearing Luo An's plan, Elr's eyes shone brightly, and he applauded continuously in praise. However, suddenly he noticed sothing and asked:
"You don't plan to join this case?"
Luo An nodded, briefly ntioned the bombing case, and spread his hands, saying:
"I don't have ti."
Besides this reason, Luo An considered that this case involved nearly 30,000 middle-class families, and it would inevitably cause massive dia discussions afterward. Luo An did not want to attract their attention, nor did he wish to pique the interest of the President and others.
Furthermore, although Elr was from the IRS, due to departntal responsibilities, the FBI's involvent in this case was unavoidable.
As long as Luo An reported the matter to Mr. Clent or FBI Director Robert, as the cake maker, even if he did not participate in the specific actions, he would not lack recognition for his contributions afterward.
Considering these aspects, Luo An ticulously recounted his plan to Elr, then briefly explained the situation to Vireness and Mr. Clent and introduced Elr to FBI Director Robert before returning to his own office.
Who FBI Director Robert would send to work with Supervisor Elr, and when exactly Madoff, the super swindler, would be arrested—Luo An put all these thoughts to the back of his mind.
Opening his computer and looking at the photo of a mixed-race black and white woman on his computer, Luo An's eyes narrowed slightly as he quietly contemplated.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Just as it was almost ti to finish work and Luo An was packing up, there was a sudden knock on the door of the team leader's office. The person who walked in was Mona.
Luo An casually asked:
"What's the matter?"
"I received an email."
Mona shook her laptop, her voice grave:
"The sender is Sarls."
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