SEC Names Katherine Martin as Associate Director in the Office of International Affairs
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Katherine K. Martin has been named Associate Director in its Office of International Affairs. As Associate Director, Ms. Martin will oversee the development of the SEC’s policy on cross-border regulatory matters, including its participation in multilateral standard-setting bodies and its bilateral dialogues with foreign authorities. Ms. Martin has served in various roles at the SEC for more than a decade, most recently as an Assistant Director in the Office of International Affairs and prior to that as a Senior Special Counsel in the Office of Clearance and Settlement in the Division of…
Read MoreStandard Bank to Pay $4.2 Million to Settle SEC Charges
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Standard Bank Plc with failing to disclose certain payments in connection with debt issued by the Government of Tanzania in 2013. The London-based bank acted as a lead manager for the offering and failed to disclose payments made by an affiliate to a Tanzanian firm that received a portion of the proceeds of the $600 million offering but performed no substantive role in the transaction. Standard Bank, now ICBC Standard Bank Plc, agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying a $4.2 million penalty and admitting the facts underlying the SEC’s charges. As…
Read MoreFormer Goldman Employee Charged With Insider Trading Before Mergers
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against a former Goldman Sachs employee accused of stealing nonpublic information in the firm’s e-mail system so he could trade illegally in advance of client mergers and make more than $450,000 in illicit profits. The SEC has obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of the trader and accounts he used to place the illicit trades. The SEC alleges that Yue Han, who worked as an associate in Goldman’s compliance department and also goes by the name John Han, traded on confidential information contained in e-mails sent and…
Read MoreSEC Charges Political Intelligence Firm
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a political intelligence firm agreed to admit wrongdoing and pay a $375,000 penalty for compliance failures. Marwood Group Research LLC also agreed to retain an independent compliance consultant after an SEC investigation found that the firm failed to properly inform compliance officers about instances when analysts obtained potential material nonpublic information from government employees. Under Marwood Group’s written policies and procedures, compliance officers are central to the firm’s efforts to prevent confidential or nonpublic information from being released to clients, who in turn could use it to influence their securities trading decisions.…
Read MoreSEC: Stockbroker Stole Investor Money for Home Renovations
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges against a former stockbroker accused of stealing investor money to remodel his house and pay other bills. The SEC alleges that Bernard M. Parker raised more than $1.2 million from his longstanding brokerage customers and others who were told they were purchasing legitimate real estate tax lien certificates and would earn returns of six to nine percent annually. However, Parker only used a small amount of investor funds to purchase tax liens and instead used their money to remodel his home in Indiana, Pa., make car payments, and pay bills for…
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