Moore faces Treasury probe

ACADEMY Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is under investigation by the US Treasury Department for taking ailing September 11 rescue workers for treatment in Cuba, as part of his upcoming healthcare documentary, Sicko.

The investigation provides another contentious lead-in for a provocative film by Moore, a fierce critic of US President George W Bush.

In the past, Moore’s adversaries have fanned publicity which helped the filmmaker create a new brand of opinionated blockbuster documentary.

Sicko promises to take the healthcare industry to task the way Moore confronted America’s passion for guns in Bowling For Columbine and skewered Bush over his handling of September 11, in Fahrenheit 9/11.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) notified Moore, in a letter dated May 2, that it was conducting a civil investigation for possible violations of the US trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba.

The letter noted that Moore applied on October 12, 2006, for permission to go to Cuba “but no determination had been made by OFAC”.

In February, Moore took about 10 ill workers from the Ground Zero rescue effort in Manhattan for treatment in Cuba, according to a spokesperson working with Moore on the release of Sicko. The film premieres on May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival.