As we go down the many rabbit holes to the Russia scandal, another opens up. This morning Caterpillar's corporate offices were raided by federal officials, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The agencies conducting the raid were interesting, to say the least. They included the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division, the Office of Export Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Office of Inspector General.
This Bloomberg article from early February sorts out why or how Russia might be involved.
Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, could get a marginal boost if it’s allowed to restart the Russian operations it mostly halted in 2014, according to Stanley Elliott, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.
It is also possible this has nothing to do with Russia. On the other hand, it's interesting that Caterpillar, a huge booster of Republican politicians, is being raided by agencies specifically tasked with regulating business activities at home and abroad.
Watch this space.
