FBI Serves Search Warrant at Downtown LADWP Office

FBI Serves Search Warrant at Downtown LADWP Office

by Contributing Editor

FBI agents served a search warrant at the downtown headquarters of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Monday, but authorities declined to discuss the nature of the investigation.

“We are confirming a search warrant at Los Angeles DWP in downtown Los Angeles, but are prohibited from commenting further because affidavits involved in the warrant are sealed,” Katherine Gulotta of the FBI in Los Angeles told City News Service.

It was unclear if the search had any relation to an ongoing federal corruption probe at City Hall focused on downtown-area real estate developments and foreign investments in the projects, specifically from select Chinese investors.

Federal agents served search warrants in November at City Councilman Jose Huizar’s offices and home, with court documents originally obtained by the Los Angeles Times and counterterrorism expert Seamus Hughes suggesting the probe is focused on potential crimes including bribes, kickbacks or money laundering. No criminal charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.

According to a 2018 search warrant affidavit targeting the email account of former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Ray Chan, who also led the city’s Department of Building and Safety, investigators were searching for information relating to a wide array of people, including Huizar and Councilman Curren Price, Chinese investment groups and a trio of downtown hotel projects.

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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com