WikiLeaks Targeting Bank Of America? Interview Suggests Mega-Bank May Be Next

UPDATE: In a new blog post, Forbes writer Andy Greenberg stops short of ruling Bank of America out as the target of WikiLeaks' next major document dump -- and he says Assange told him that WikiLeaks has documents from "multiple finance firms." Greenberg also noted that whatever information Assange was referring to in 2009 Computer World interview, it is now roughly 14 months old.

ORIGINAL POST: The next target of WikiLeaks may be Bank of America, if comments made last year by the organization's editor-in-chief Julian Assange are any indication.

In an October 2009 interview with Computer World , Assange said that Wikileaks had acquired a large cache of information from Bank of America (hat tip to Raw Story.)

Here's Assange's 2009 interview:

"At the moment, for example, we are sitting on 5GB from Bank of America, one of the executive's hard drives," he said. "Now how do we present that? It's a difficult problem. We could just dump it all into one giant Zip file, but we know for a fact that has limited impact. To have impact, it needs to be easy for people to dive in and search it and get something out of it."

In a cover story interview with Forbes, Assange hinted that his organization's next focus will be on uncovering corporate America's secrets. While he declined to identify which bank he'd be targeting, Assange did comment on WikiLeaks' next move, which should come in a matter of weeks. Here's Assange on the material:

"You could call it the ecosystem of corruption," he says, refusing to characterize the coming release in more detail. "But it's also all the regular decision making that turns a blind eye to and supports unethical practices: the oversight that's not done, the priorities of executives, how they think they're fulfilling their own self-interest."

The added attention couldn't come at a worse time for Bank of America, which is currently embroiled in a federal racketeering lawsuit over its alleged use of "robo-signers" to process foreclosure documents. The bank is also facing battles over mortgage buybacks and new accusations that it routinely mishandled mortgage notes.

HuffPost's Prediction Games HuffPost's Predict The News!

Which US bank will Wikileaks target next?

• Bank of America

• Citigroup

• Goldman Sachs

• Wells Fargo

• Other

Predict it!

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Comments

[DLCA]

09:56 PM on 01/29/2011

I selected Wells-Fargo because they have not only followed BofA (both founded in CA), they have surpassed them in their practices.

[edlindaspy]

02:40 AM on 01/28/2011

I chose Bank of America only because that is what the news media has been saying but it could be totally different from the choices above,,,who knows?

[brux]

07:40 PM on 01/24/2011

I just wish WikiLeaks would hurry up and get this stuff out. People really need to understand what is going on and they are doing a good job and getting attention and making people think.

[butdoyou]

12:10 PM on 01/23/2011

JPMorgan Chase This one of the worst. look up history on these parasites.....

[Siebenstein]

01:35 AM on 01/23/2011

Chase please !!!!!!!!!!

[Pod-gers]

11:47 PM on 01/22/2011

I'm holding out, hope against hope, that goldman gets a dose of sunlight!

[Kate Burnside]

12:48 PM on 01/22/2011

At first I was irritated with Assange and Wikileaks. Now, I think he is doing us a service by exposing people and events that people would otherwise get away with--forever (until civilization crumbles). That said, and I do hope he exposes the big American banks, I predict he will, with his incredible sources, expose AMERICANS with accounts at banks such as Credit Suisse and UBS. We may find that bankruptcies occurred when millions was hidden in Switzerland. Politicians (I'm thinking of a former vice-president with deep ties to a certain defense contractor)--I wonder what assets he might have had during his term? Perhaps this is a bit extreme, but in these United States, whom can we trust?

I would like to see the big American banks exposed--BOA, Citigroup, the whole lot. I think in time, we will know. Let's just hope no one finds Assange's underground bunker. That would be a pity to our freedom to know what is happening (I do think some information is petty, but I really think he has some great information that can literally change things--the abuse of bailout money is obvious but proof would be wonderful)--and that is just the beginning.

[marknez21]

10:42 PM on 01/22/2011

You forgot JP Morgan Chase.
I recommend Credit Unions OR LOCAL BANKS

[Pod-gers]

11:48 PM on 01/22/2011

Good foer you Kate!

[Carson12345]

02:39 AM on 01/01/2011

Sad to say it will be my bank, BofA. They got a big bailout, but they have done nothing to provide mortgage relief for foreclosures. I went inside to make a transaction, and afterward the teller asked, "Is there anything else I can help you with today? Would you be interested in speaking to a financial advisor today to help make a mortgage decision?" Like what KIND of decision? Directions to the nearest cliff to drive over? How to tie a noose properly? They aren't giving new mortgages, and all they want to do with current ones is know your location at all times so they can get the keys from you before you bash the walls with a baseball bat.

[breakingpoint]

08:03 PM on 12/25/2010

BOA working over the holidays
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ9n1x9YjjY

[foxisms]

07:47 PM on 12/14/2010

So why are the other Assange related prediction links unreachable?
Has someone advised against making this guy a celebrity Robin Hood or what?

[Pod-gers]

02:35 PM on 12/14/2010

There should be a full independent investigation of all of these Zombie banks. However, my prediction is based soley on my very own curiosity. Goldman is the most secret of all, and has friends in the White House, so, I am hoping against hope it's Goldman.

[KDALove]

03:30 PM on 12/09/2010

Who knows what kind of secrets the banks have in relation to other countries. I'm already appalled at some of leaked information regarding Shell and Nigera. If the abrupt service interruption of Wikileaks' accounts is of any indication, it's going to be a corporate blood bath once the truth comes out.

[marknez21]

10:50 PM on 01/22/2011

Probably, many off shore transactions, bribes, accounting fraud ,money laundering, rate calculation,......

[BigBadMikey47]

11:47 PM on 12/08/2010

You can take this one off the board. I heard Thom Hartmann talking about this earlier, and BoA is the definite target here.

[Libertarian09]

02:15 PM on 01/22/2011

They are referring to the next target in the banking sector, not BoA

[dfed813]

11:37 AM on 12/07/2010

I think and hope Citi group will be right behind them.

[paintitblack]

04:52 PM on 12/06/2010

I don't care which one they target next, all I know is I'm pulling my $ out ow WF this week and into a credit union.