The OIG investigated an allegation that a Federal Indian Minerals Office (FIMO) employee improperly disclosed confidential and proprietary mineral appraisal information associated with allotted Indian mineral interests.
We found evidence that the FIMO employee disclosed confidential and proprietary information to a private energy company employee without authorization. The information released included the fair market valuation associated with Navajo Indian allotted mineral interests; the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regional director canceled the mineral lease negotiations for these interests, in part, because of the disclosure, and the mineral interests remained unleased when we issued our report. The unauthorized disclosure violated the U.S. Department of the Interior’s standards for the proper handling of agency information.
We referred our investigation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which declined prosecution.