Recent efforts to revitalize and reorganize the SEC enforcement division may have already led to an uptick in the number of insider trading cases involving Wall Street professionals. Reuters reports that in perhaps the most high-profile ongoing case, the SEC and federal criminal authorities have now charged more than a dozen financial professionals in the Galleon investigation.
At the recent SEC Speaks 2010 conference, senior enforcement officials attributed the increased SEC activity in the insider trading arena to a combination of initiatives put in place by SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and Director of Enforcement Robert Khuzami (pictured). These include the adoption of specialized enforcement units including a market abuse unit; a hiring strategy focused on Wall Street know-how and trading technologies; the establishment of a new Office of Market Intelligence designed to look at trades across markets and identify patterns early; and an increased focus on encouraging individuals to cooperate with investigations for credit.
