[ By Howard Haykin ] As Goldman Sachs Group approached the chip redemption center [C-I: As if this is a casino where gambling is conducted.] it was approached by IRS officials seeking to note the firm's sale and anticipated tax obligations.  Goldman Sachs raised about $1.1 billion by selling stock in Facebook Inc. (FB)’s IPO - representing almost half its stake in the social network. All told, Goldman Sachs and its funds offered about 29 million of the 66 million shares they own at the IPO price of $38 a share.  Goldman Sachs sold 6.2 million shares of its own holdings, which raised $235 million. [C-I Note: That should cover the firm's 2012 costs for a few good investment bankers.] The investment gain helps validate ... CEO Lloyd Blankfein’s business model and a January 2011 transaction that threatened to undermine efforts to improve his New York-based company’s reputation after it settled fraud claims a year earlier.  Such a transaction would have been prohibited under at least one version of the ever-revising Volcker Rule component of the Dodd-Frank Reform Act of 2008. Depending on the underwriters' decision to exercise the "greenshoe option", Goldman Sachs and its funds might be in position to sell more of its 4.3 million shares.  But with the price bouncing around the low $40's, what's the rush? Group Effort. Goldman created a special-purpose vehicle ("SPV") to bundle the holdings under one name and sell the stock to wealthy clients.  That kept it from running afoul of securities rules mandating that companies with at least 500 investors meet SEC reporting requirements. Jon Stewart, discussing the deal on Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show," joked at the time, "Oh Goldman, is there any regulation’s intent you can’t subvert?" Let the Buyer Beware. A document for investors disclosed that Goldman Sachs might sell or hedge its stake without warning clients, underscoring potential conflicts in the firm’s business model of investing its own money as well as advising customers.  The bank eventually said it canceled an offering of Facebook shares to U.S. investors amid concern that "intense media attention" may violate rules limiting marketing of private securities. Only offshore clients could participate in the deal. For further details, go to:  [Bloomberg, 5/17/12].