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Civil penalties against public companies have always been controversial, but they are now commonplace. To the cynic, the penalty regime appears to be a studied compromise, in which public companies are allowed to settle SEC enforcement actions with reduced charges and no individual liability in exchange for a payment. This allows the SEC to trumpet […]
A federal appeals court upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s $92.8 million civil fine against convicted Galleon Group hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, nine months after refusing to shorten his 11-year prison term for insider trading. via Rajaratnam’s $92.8 million SEC civil fine is upheld | Reuters.
Penalties levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped to a four-year low during the latest fiscal year, showing how a more friendly tone from regulators and the transition of political power can yield relief for Wall Street. Total penalties ordered through SEC enforcement actions fell 15.5% last year to about $3.5 billion, the lowest […]
On June 21, 2016, the SEC announced that the failure of a defendant in an SEC enforcement action to live up to an agreement to “cooperate fully and truthfully” had resulted in that defendant’s penalty being increased from $2,533 to a staggering $980,229. And it could have been worse! The SEC had asked the court to […]
The SEC might be feeling like a little like Oprah lately, handing out refunds the way Oprah hands out cars. “You get a refund! You get a refund! YOU get a refund!” via ‘You Get a Refund! You Get a Refund! You Get a Refund…!’ | Compliance Week
A federal judge Jan. 26 ordered the SEC to pay back $21.5 million from a prior settlement with Level Global Investors Ltd. in light of a Second Circuit decision that overturned fund co-founder Anthony Chiasson’s insider trading conviction. via Insider Settlement Against Chiasson Fund Wiped Out | Bloomberg BNA
The SEC has stepped up its enforcement activity across the board. The agency levied more civil penalties in the first half of this fiscal year, October through March, than over any comparable period since at least 2005, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of the 4,443 penalties imposed by the SEC since […]
Three years later, Sen. Chuck Grassley is re-introducing the SEC Penalties Act of 2012 — and dusting off some old quotes. via The Return of ‘Decimal Dust’ and the SEC Penalties Act | Compliance Week.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office yesterday asked U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain to approve the agreement as part of a record $1.8 billion settlement that also calls for the hedge fund to close its investment advisory business. Swain is set to decide April 10 whether she will accept the guilty plea and sentence […]
In a court filing on Tuesday, Mr. Tourre’s lawyers attacked the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pursuit of more than $1 million in penalties, calling it “unwarranted and unjust” and “unreasonably severe.” Mr. Tourre’s lawyers are proposing something far smaller: a maximum penalty of $65,000. via Tourre Seeks Leniency in S.E.C. Case – NYTimes.com