SEC Says No Trading Linked To September 11 Terrorist Attack
Special to EconomicBriefing.com July 22, 2004- In conjunction with the release today of the final report by The National Commission On Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9-11 Commission),the Securities and Exchange Comission has released comments stating that on Sept. 12, 2001, the SEC began an investigation to determine whether there was evidence that anyone who had advance knowledge of the terrorist attacks on September 11 sought to profit from that knowledge by trading in United States securities markets.
In the course of that review, the SEC stated that, they did not develop any evidence suggesting that anyone who had advance knowledge of the September 11 attacks traded on the basis of that information. The SEC said it examined more than 9.5 million securities transactions that took place during the weeks preceding September 11. Along with the New York Stock Exchange, NASD, the American Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Pacific Exchange, and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, the SEC reviewed trading in securities and derivative products of 103 companies in six industry groups with trading in seven markets. The SEC said it also reviewed trading in 32 exchange traded funds and broad and narrow indices. In addition to working with the exchanges and NASD, the SEC worked with criminal law enforcement authorities, including the Department of Justice and the FBI, as well as other regulatory counterparts in the U.S. and abroad. Finally, the SEC sought and obtained information from the legal and compliance departments at securities firms and other financial institutions to determine whether any unusual trading activity had been observed by their staffs in the period prior to Sept. 11, 2001. |
