SEC’s Penalties, Relief Hit All-Time Record of $8.2 Billion

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s fines and investor relief hit an all-time record in fiscal 2024.

The agency’s enforcement actions led to $8.2 billion in penalties and reimbursement to investors, though the number of cases declined 26% compared with the year before, according to an annual report.

“The Division of Enforcement is a steadfast cop on the beat, following the facts and the law wherever they lead to hold wrongdoers accountable,” outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement Friday.

Enforcement actions in the year ended Sept. 30 resulted in $2.1 billion in civil fines and $6.1 billion in disgorgement, or return of ill-gotten gains to people who were harmed.

About half the SEC’s total fines and remedies were tied to one case: Terraform Labs and its co-founder, Do Kwon. They were found liable for fraud over the firm’s 2022 implosion, which wiped out billions of dollars in investor assets.

In June, Terraform agreed to pay $4.47 billion to resolve the SEC’s lawsuit.

The SEC cracked down on financial firms for their use of off-channel messaging services such as WhatsApp to conduct official business. Last year, more than 70 companies agreed to pay more than $600 million in civil penalties.

In another notable case, Morgan Stanley paid a total of $166 million to settle allegations that it engaged in a multiyear fraud involving the disclosure of confidential information about the sale of large quantities of stock known as block trades.

Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg