The U.S. government announced that it has established a large, new, inter-agency task force to combat financial crime.

The Department of Justice will lead the task force, and the Department of Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will serve on the steering committee.

Officials from 25 agencies, departments and offices will also participate in the task force, which will work with state and local authorities to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, address discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims.

The Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which replaces the Corporate Fraud Task Force established in 2002, will build upon efforts already underway to combat mortgage, securities and corporate fraud by increasing coordination and fully utilizing the resources and expertise of the government’s law enforcement and regulatory apparatus, said SEC enforcement director, Robert Khuzami.

The U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder, will convene the first meeting of the task force in the next 30 days. “This task force’s mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,” Holder said. “We will be relentless in our investigation of corporate and financial wrongdoing, and will not hesitate to bring charges, where appropriate, for criminal misconduct on the part of businesses and business executives.”

IE