Securities Industry News

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Canadian citizen from the Toronto area with insider trading, alleging that he generated nearly USD10 million in illicit gains by using confidential information to trade ahead of merger and acquisition transactions. The allegations go back to 1994.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Lambros Ballas, a securities broker from Merrick, N.Y., with securities fraud for repeatedly creating and then distributing fake press releases to manipulate the stock prices of multiple publicly traded companies.

The USA's SEC has started proceedings against Ethan Kass, alleging that he executed unauthorised trades causing losses to investors in five hedge funds. But although the proceedings were entered yesterday, the allegations relate to conduct in 2005.

The USA's Securities and Exchange Commission has launched administrative actions against ten companies which have failed to file necessary reports in breach of requirements. The main question to be answered, in most cases, is why has it taken so long?

The USA's Securities and Exchange Commission has moved with unlikely speed in bringing an action against Reza Saleh, an employee of Perot Systems relating to the offer by Dell Inc. made public just two days before the action was launched.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it has filed a settled Complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina against David L. Hersh (Hersh). The Commission alleges that between January 2007 and January 2009, Hersh conducted a fraudulent offering of USD2 million in unregistered securities from his home near Raleigh, North Carolina.

Three former senior executives of a Hong Kong products design company have been charged by HK's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) with conspiracy to defraud in relation to the company's listing in Singapore, and deceiving loans, totalling HKD7.5 million, from a number of banks in Hong Kong.

The USA's Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday unanimously proposed a rule amendment that would prohibit the practice of flashing marketable orders.

ASIC is seeking public comment on whether to withdraw current class order relief that allows issuers of investment products to cite credit ratings in disclosure documents without the consent of credit rating agencies.

The Falcon Securities case is having widespread fall-out as the both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the EFCC find increasing evidence of malfeasance in the securities industry.