Here are some excerpts:
Criminal Investigation’s (CI) primary mission is to serve the American public by investigating potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) and related financial crimes in a manner that fosters confidence in the tax system and compliance with the law. To accomplish its mission, CI uses undercover operations as an essential technique in the detection and investigation of criminal activity involving tax and money laundering offenses. An undercover operation is a law enforcement technique whereby a special agent, acting under an assumed identity, infiltrates a suspected criminal organization without the knowledge of the perpetrators for the purpose of acquiring evidence of criminal activity. CI has special agents who are trained in undercover techniques and are commonly referred to as undercover agents. In addition to the undercover agent(s) assigned to an undercover operation, other CI personnel, i.e., cover agent, case agent, Supervisory Special Agent, and technical special agents, referred to as the undercover team, normally participate in the undercover operation.
CI’s Office of Special Investigative Techniques has oversight responsibility for the approval and execution of all undercover operations. This responsibility includes recommending corrective actions to CI officials to address areas for improvement. Undercover operations are also subject to review during Review and Program Evaluations of each field office.
During Fiscal Years (FY) 2008 through 2010, CI closed ***2(f)*** undercover operations that expended ***2(f)*** in confidential expenditures. The majority of these undercover operations were classified as grand jury. An undercover operation categorized as grand jury has had evidence brought before a Federal grand jury to seek an indictment against the target(s) of the investigation. According to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, only those persons authorized have the ability to review evidence presented before the grand jury.[2] The Assistant United States Attorney’s Office makes the final decision regarding individuals who are authorized access to grand jury information. In addition, authorized persons are prohibited from disclosing, to those that do not have authorized access, any evidence presented to the grand jury. Figure 1 provides information for the ***2(f)*** undercover operations by classification, i.e., grand jury or non-grand jury, and the amount of confidential expenditures.
