Those involved in misconduct relating to federal securities laws faced a record level of financial remedies following SEC investigations and enforcements, the agency has revealed.
Despite a 26% decline in the number of enforcement actions taken (583) in fiscal year 2024 compared to the previous period, the agency obtained orders of $8.2 billion in financial remedies, the highest ever, including a record $6.1 billion in disgorgements and the second highest ever civil penalties totaling $2.1 billion.
However, these stats are skewed by the monetary judgement obtained against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon who were found guilty of fraud - one of the largest in US history which lost investors almost $40 billion - in April this year. The SEC sought $5.3 billion but obtained $4.47 billion and this accounted for 56% of the agency’s $8.2 billion total.
Investors saw $345 million distributed to them by the SEC in FY2024.
“The Division of Enforcement is a steadfast cop on the beat, following the facts and the law wherever they lead to hold wrongdoers accountable,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who resigned recently and will step down in January. “As demonstrated by this year’s results, the Division helps promote the integrity of our capital markets to benefit investors and issuers alike.”
The year also saw a record number of tips, complaints, and referrals to the SEC, a total of 45,130 and there were more than 24,000 whistleblower tips – 14,000 of them from two individuals – with awards totaling $255 million.
“The varied enforcement actions recommended by the [Enforcement] Division in fiscal year 2024 demonstrate the Division keeping pace with emerging threats presented by misstatements regarding artificial intelligence, fraudsters using social media to perpetuate relationship scams, and more, while maintaining its focus on evergreen investor risks such as material misstatements, deficient internal controls, and major gatekeeper failures,” said Sam Waldon, Acting Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement. “I could not be prouder of the dedicated and talented staff of the Division of Enforcement who work tirelessly to hold wrongdoers accountable, promote compliance, and help promote investor trust in the markets.”
A recent analysis found that the Securities and Exchange Commission handed out increased total financial penalties to public companies and their subsidiaries in fiscal year 2024.
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