$CAT’s Out Of The Bag? Caterpillar Offices Raided By IRS, FDIC, And Commerce Dept

Shares in Caterpillar ($CAT) are down sharply after Federal authorities executed search warrants at three facilities, including the corporate headquarters in Peoria, IL. The multi-agency raid is being conducted by the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Commerce Dept’s Office of Export Enforcement, and the FDIC’s office of Inspector General. The reason for the investigation is presently unknown.

At the Downtown Caterpillar global headquarters building, at least some company employees were directed to the building’s cafeteria and were told to remain there and not leave, according to one employee at the facility. Another source with direct knowledge indicated those sequestered there include employees in the tax and accounting divisions, as well as from executive offices.

Some of the agents entering the headquarters building wore jackets bearing an Internal Revenue Service logo, others appeared to be from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Others simply denoted that they were federal agents. A placard in the window of one of the federal vehicles noted it was used by police from the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement. –pjstar.com

Shares of $CAT down over 4% as law enforcement raids several facilities, including headquarters. pic.twitter.com/QZJqZ29ynl

— ZeroPointNow (@ZeroPointNow) March 2, 2017

Per ZeroHedge:

As a reminder, this is not the first time CAT has gotten in trouble with regulators: back in 2014 CAT and PWC got in trouble before Congress for evading taxes using offshore locations when this infamous line came up: “What the heck, we’ll all be retired when this audit comes up on audit.” In retrospect, perhaps not all will be retired.