Maurasi - Sources within the Caldari Business Tribunal tell the Scope that the CBT has opened an investigation into financial malfeasance at Caldari Funds Unlimited, the largest independent financial institution in the State. While the exact nature of the investigation was not disclosed, the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the investigation was looking at decisions made "at the highest level."
The repercussions of such an investigation could be enormous, according to Meungette Dosille, professor of Caldari Studies at the University of Caille. "Caldari Funds Unlimited isn't just any financial institution," she explained. "CFU is the largest retirement fund manager in the State, as well as the closest thing the Caldari have to a national central bank. If something is rotten there, it could damage every one of the Big Eight and cripple the entire State."
Even if the allegations prove false, according to Dosille, the fallout could end up causing significant turmoil within the State. The last time anything like this happened was in the Seaguard Financial Incident more than 80 years ago. The Tribunal investigation found that a CFU competitor had engineered a propaganda and corporate espionage campaign to throw doubt on its stability. The worries triggered riots all over the State, and the end result was that the CEP approved "extreme sanction" against Seaguard Financial. Within a year, the megacorporations had dismantled the company, financially and militarily.
Caldari stock markets have already begun to feel the effects of the rumors, as financial stocks have fallen nearly 10% over the last three days. Analysts with the Garoun Investment Bank tell the Scope that if speculation is allowed to continue, they could see as much as a 50% drop from last year's highs.