SEC moving to beef up enforcement division, Schapiro says
Faced with criticism that the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to uncover Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro today unveiled plans to bolster the commission's enforcement efforts.
Faced with criticism that the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to uncover Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro today unveiled plans to bolster the commission’s enforcement efforts.
“Understanding that there is no time to waste, the SEC is acting aggressively to transform itself into a stronger, better and more agile regulator,” she said.
During the first three months of the year, the commission obtained 27 restraining orders to freeze the assets of fraud suspects, compared with seven during the same period a year ago, said Ms. Schapiro, who became head of the SEC in January.
She delivered her remarks in Washington at the Investment Company Institute’s annual gathering of mutual fund executives.
Since becoming head of the SEC, Ms. Schapiro has taken steps to improve the commission’s enforcement division. For example, she recently ended a policy requiring the division’s attorneys to get approval from the agency’s commissioners before negotiating fines and penalties with companies accused of violations.
Ms. Schapiro has also taken steps to recruit more personnel to handle the unit’s caseload.
“We’ve taken steps to change, over time, how our enforcement division is organized and operated,” she said.
In February, Ms. Schapiro named Robert Khuzami, a former federal prosecutor, to replace Linda Thomsen as director of the enforcement group.
The ICI is based in Washington.
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