The Treasury Department Office of the Inspector General Home | Office of Inspector General was established in 1989 and headed by an Inspector General who is presidentially appointed and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.   This offical heads an office who is required to report to the President and Congress on problems and deficiences with programs administered by the Treasury Department and take corrective action up to and including criminal penalties against agency employees and private sector contractors.  Legal authority for this office can be found beginning at  5 USC 402  5 USC 402: Establishment and purpose of Offices of Inspector General and administrative regulatory authority from 34 CFR 805 eCFR :: 31 CFR 34.805 — Treasury Inspector General.

Information  resources produced by this office include Semiannual Reports to Congress Semiannual Reports to Congress | Office of Inspector General , this December 19, 2025 report  OIG-26-004 Financial Management Audit of the Department of the Treasury’s Schedules of United States Gold Reserves Held by Federal Reserve Banks as of September 30, 2025 and 2024 documenting gold reserves held by the Federal Reserve Bank, these CARES Act reports on Covid pandemic funding programs CARES Act Reports | Office of Inspector General, and management challenge letters such as this December 4, 2025 letter Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Department of the Treasury (OIG-CA-26-005) to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noting five management challenges facing this Department including resource optimization, cyber threats, artificial intelligence adoption, anti-money laundering/terrorist financing and Bank Secrecy Act Enforcement, and crypto and digital assets growth.  This office’s Fiscal Year 2026 congressional budget request was for $59.6 million and its workforce is 196 08-OIG-FY-2026-CJ.pdf (p. 4)

This blog post was submitted by Bert Chapman, Purdue University.