By Marc Vartabedian
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it collected $8.2 billion in monetary penalties for the fiscal year 2024, the highest amount for the fines in the regulator's history.
The record amount imposed in financial penalties -- two-thirds more than the $4.9 billion collected in fiscal year 2023 -- caps the tenure of agency Chair Gary Gensler, who said he plans to step down in January once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Just over half of the 2024 total came from a monetary judgment following the SEC's jury trial win against cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs and its former Chief Executive Do Kwon, after being charged with one of the largest securities frauds in U.S. history.
As the agency's head, Gensler took a tough stance toward crypto companies. The burgeoning industry has largely celebrated his expected departure from the agency once Trump takes office.
The record penalty collection comes despite a decline in the number of cases by the SEC. The regulator took 583 enforcement actions during the year, a 26% decline from the previous year. The SEC also barred 124 individuals from serving as officers and directors of public companies, the second-highest number in a decade.
The agency focused on record-keeping violations stemming from off-channel communications, bringing cases that netted more than $600 million in civil penalties against roughly 70 firms.
Another significant financial penalty came from a settlement with Morgan Stanley, which paid $249 million to resolve SEC charges involving the disclosure of confidential information about the sale of large quantities of stock.
Write to Marc Vartabedian at marc.vartabedian@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 22, 2024 19:09 ET (00:09 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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