The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s chief compliance officer is leaving the agency, the regulator said Wednesday, marking the end of a three-year tenure during which the regulator stepped up scrutiny of Wall Street and cryptocurrency companies.
Gurbir Grewal has led the SEC’s 1,500-person law enforcement unit since July 2021, after serving as New Jersey’s attorney general as well as other state and federal government roles. During his tenure, the SEC’s enforcement has drawn the ire of companies such as cryptocurrencies and Wall Street for its crackdown on fundamental business practices.
The SEC has pursued major cases in the cryptocurrency sector during Grewal’s tenure, including the lawsuit against exchanges Binance and Coinbase (COIN.O) for facilitating illicit offers to retail investors. It also accused FTX as part of a broader government action against the stock market’s multibillion-dollar fraud and sued the company’s auditor for negligence.
Under his leadership, SEC law enforcement staff embarked on a broad, multi-year investigative initiative focused on Wall Street’s use of personal devices and apps like WhatsApp to discuss business, imposing more than 2 billion dollars in civil fines against dozens of companies, including JP Morgan Chase JPM. .N, Goldman Sachs GS.N and Morgan Stanley MS.N.
That “off-channel” investigation, which began in 2021, is still generating enforcement actions and has also ensnared hedge funds, private equity funds and rating agencies. The initiative drew attention for its industry-wide reach and the strong penalties sought by the SEC, which Grewal described as an effort to deter violations.
“From recalibrating sanctions and remedies to addressing emerging risks and holding issuers, insiders and gatekeepers accountable, I am incredibly proud of everything we have accomplished as a Division during my tenure,” Grewal said in a statement.
Under Grewal, SEC authorities have also fought Elon Musk in court over the billionaire’s failure to testify in the agency’s investigation into his acquisition of Twitter, now known as billionaire investor Carl Icahn for disclosure failures.
The enforcement division under Grewal filed more than 2,400 enforcement actions that generated more than $20 billion in fines and other payments, the SEC said in its statement.
Grewal plans to leave the regulator to go into private practice, according to a source briefed on the matter.
His last day at the SEC will be October 11 and Deputy Director Sanjay Wadhwa will take over as acting director, the SEC said. Sam Walder, the division’s top attorney, will take over as acting deputy chief.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.