Ken Griffin Citadel Founder Sues US Tax Agency Over Leak Of Records
Kenneth Griffin, a billionaire investor and founder of Citadel has sued the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Treasury Department over the leak of his tax records to the non-profit media group ProPublica last year.
The tycoon alleges IRS employees for having been able to “misappropriate” confidential tax information and leak it to ProPublica because of a lack of safeguards at the government agency in a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida.
He is seeking the maximum allowed fee of $1,000 in damages for each unauthorized tax return disclosure. In accordance with Griffin’s accusation the tax regulator “wilfully and intentionally” failed to implement safeguards to protect confidential tax documents.
Citadel and market-maker Citadel Securities which Griffin is the founder has a net worth estimated to be about $32 billion, according to Forbes. The lawsuit stated that he is proud of his success and has always sought to pay his fair share of taxes.
According to a published post by Financial Times, ProPublica published articles last year including tax records belonging to billionaires such as Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and Michael Bloomberg.
ProPublica’s report found the 25 richest Americans had paid just $13.6 billion in federal income taxes in the five years to 2018 through legal tax avoidance, even as their collective wealth rose to roughly $401 billion in part because of a stock market boom.
Citadel’s Ken Griffin Sues IRS Over Financial Data Breach. (Photo: Financial Times)
IRS Leaks Tax Records, Ken Griffin Citadel Founder Files Lawsuit
This act reignited the debate about income inequality and whether the US’s wealthiest citizens are paying their fair share of taxes while also raising questions about how the news outlet obtained the information.
An investigation was launched by federal authorities into the release of confidential information to ProPublica following its publication but no conclusion has been publicly disclosed. Janet Yellen from the US treasury and attorney-general Merrick Garland said at the time that they were taking the matter seriously.
According to a written statement given by Griffin, the IRS employees deliberately stole the confidential tax returns of several hundred successful American business leaders. Griffin also stated the government has failed to thoroughly investigate this unlawful theft of confidential and personal information.
