From Missouri Digital News: https://mdn.org

JEFFERSON CITY - State Auditor Tom Schweich issued subpoenas to the Missouri Division of Finance to force it to turn over its records that were not provided during his audit.

Schweich said that his office will immediately begin a new audit of the division, which is required to hand over the missing records by May 17.

"They're not immune from oversight; no one is immune from oversight," Schweich said. "All they've been doing is trying to obstruct our investigation."

The Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration were all given an "incomplete" status due to the missing records from Division of Finance.

The finance division's said turning over the records would violate the law. The Division of Finance communications director released a statement that said the Division of Finance is "bound under oath to keep secret all facts and information obtained in the course of all examinations."

Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration's Communications Director Travis Ford refused to speak in a recorded interview and did not ask the division's director for a comment or interview.

Missouri's auditor said he is aware of the law that prohibits the release of banking records, but that there is an exception. 

"What they're worried about is that we already found stuff in, what we looked at, and they're worried about is finding more stuff," Schweich said. "That's what's going on here and nothing else."

The main responsibilities of the Division of Finance are to regulate state-chartered banks, trust companies, consumer credit facilities, mortgage brokers and loan institutions.

The records that have been turned over during the audit were from banks the division has closed; however, records about banks still in operation were withheld, Schweich said. Auditors have analyzed the documents that have been received from the finance division that show an overcharge of an estimated $1.5 million from the division. Along with the overcharge, the division was late when examining the institutions nearly 47 percent of the time.

This is not the first time the division has refused to turn over banking records. The auditor's office encountered a similar problem in 1990 during the last audit of the Division of Finance.

The auditor's main concern is not for the banks themselves but to see if the division is following proper procedures, Schweich said.

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