SEC's Penalties, Relief Hit All-Time Record of $8.2 Billion

Source: Bloomberg

November 22, 2024 at 4:29 PM EST


The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s fines and investor relief hit an all-time record in fiscal 2024.

The agency’s enforcement actions led to $8.2 billion in penalties and reimbursement to investors, though the number of cases declined 26% compared with the year before, according to an annual report.

“The Division of Enforcement is a steadfast cop on the beat, following the facts and the law wherever they lead to hold wrongdoers accountable,” outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement Friday. Enforcement actions in the year ended Sept. 30 resulted in $2.1 billion in civil fines and $6.1 billion in disgorgement, or return of ill-gotten gains to people who were harmed.

About half the SEC’s total fines and remedies were tied to one case: Terraform Labs and its co-founder, Do Kwon. They were found liable for fraud over the firm’s 2022 implosion, which wiped out billions of dollars in investor assets. In June, Terraform agreed to pay $4.47 billion to resolve the SEC’s lawsuit.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-22/sec-s-penalties-relief-hit-all-time-record-of-8-2-billion?srnd=homepage-americas