Friday, May 15, 2009

Carlyle's Riverstone Holdings Still in NY Pension Investigation


The Carlyle Group settled with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. They paid $20 million to resolve their role in a "pay for play" pension investment scandal. Bloomberg reported:

Carlyle executives will not be subject to any criminal liability under the settlement.

Still under investigation is Carlyle's energy joint venture, Riverstone Holdings. Lord John Browne, former CEO of BP, works for Riverstone.

My guess is James A. Baker, III will make things OK for Lord Browne. He helped John avoid blame for the Texas City BP explosion that killed 15 people. James Baker is closely associated with the Carlyle Group, which hired Lord John shortly after Baker's report blaming a misplaced "culture of safety."