Fed watchdog to investigate officials’ financial trades

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent investigator will look into whether Federal Reserve officials broke the law with financial trades last year that have come under congressional scrutiny and sharp criticism from outside the central bank. The Fed said its independent Office of the Inspector General will investigate whether the trading activity was in compliance with both ethics rules and the law. Last week two Fed officials announced they were stepping down in the wake of revelations that they had engaged in extensive trading in 2020. Both stood to potentially benefit financially from the actions.