Senate investigating Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs for commodities market manipulation

The U.S. Senate is investigating both Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs for manipulating commodities markets in an effort to reap greater profits.

Reuters reports Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, is wrapping up the two-year long investigation, which focus on the energy and metals markets. In the last few weeks, Levin's investigators have met with representatives of both Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs multiple times.

Executives and employees from those companies may have to testify in front of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as early as September.

The investigation was spurred by concerns that the actions of the Wall Street behemoths drove up costs for everyone from consumers to corporations while also threatening the environment and the health of the market generally.

Major companies such as Coca Cola and MillerCoors have accused the companies of moving metal more slowly after they purchased warehouses that store aluminum. This created artificial shortages in the aluminum market, which Coca Cola and MillerCoors allege have cost both them and consumers billions of dollars.

In reaction to the increased public scrutiny and a flurry of lawsuits, both Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs have sold some of their commodities and warehousing businesses, but they are not completely divested from those areas.

Levin is retiring after this year's mid-term elections. Since he does not have to worry about campaign contributions from powerful lobbyists, he now has a free hand to serve the wider interests of the U.S. public by investigating wrongdoing by powerful corporations.

These commodities abuses were first brought to light in 2012 after companies like Coca Cola started to complain publicly about their rising costs. Those accusations were then investigated by news organizations like Reuters and The New York Times, which seemed to confirm the allegations made by the companies.