Grassley Questions SEC Over Claims That Records Were Purged

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to answer allegations that the agency destroyed files from initial investigations of firms including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., SAC Capital Advisors LP and Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the request in a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro dated yesterday, citing claims by an agency employee that more than 9,000 such files have been purged. The Iowa lawmaker asked Schapiro to explain whether the SEC routinely destroys documents related to so-called matters under investigation that don’t progress beyond the initial phase.