The Securities and Exchange Commission is shaping up for another competitive year by restructuring its Enforcement Division unit, establishing five high priority areas. These areas focus on market abuse, structured and new products, foreign corrupt practices, and municipal securities and public pensions. Also, one of these areas will focus on hedge funds and private equity firms.
The SEC faced high criticism for failing to detect Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, hedge funds insider trading violations and other alleged frauds. The SEC has strongly responded with significant reorganization of its Enforcement Division unit with establishing an alternative investments unit, which will have hedge funds and private equity firms under its supervision. The new unit is headed by Bruce Karpati, founder and head of the SEC’s Hedge Fund Working Group and a former assistant regional director in its New York office, and Robert Kaplan, formerly assistant director of the enforcement division.
In addition, the SEC created a new Office of Market Intelligence to review tips on fraud and other wrongdoings. This office will collect, analyze and monitor the tips and referrals the SEC receives. The goal is to encourage and permit those who came forward to avoid prosecution if informants fully and truthfully provide the SEC with useful information.
