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Non-Tech : The Enron Scandal - Unmoderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (2773)	9/10/2003 11:39:42 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3602

The Daily Enron hasn't commented on Glisan's sentence yet. I think that the news hit the wires late in the day. Too bad Gilsan didn't flip. A couple of months of incarceration might change his mind. chicagotribune.com SEC on record pace attacking wrongdoing Enforcement actions in 2003 could top 600 By Andrew Countryman Tribune staff reporter September 10, 2003 Nearly two years after Enron became a synonym for corporate sins, federal regulators continue to bring vast numbers of actions against all types of malfeasance. In congressional testimony Tuesday, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson revealed regulators are filing enforcement actions at a record pace and are seeking to bar more people from being officers or directors of public companies. Through Aug. 20, with six weeks remaining in the government's fiscal year, the SEC had filed 543 enforcement actions, Donaldson said. At the average of nearly 12 a week, the total would top 600 and surpass last year's record of 598. "I think the trends are in the right direction, and we are pleased with these results," he responded to a question by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). Indeed, enforcement actions last year were 25 percent higher than four years earlier, and Donaldson said last year's Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance law has expanded regulators' ability to crack down on wrongdoing. "The commission ... is moving decisively to utilize these new tools to expose and punish acts of corruption, improve corporate responsibility and protect America's investors," he said. Donaldson said 147 of this year's actions involved financial fraud or reporting violations, approaching last year's record of 163. He said the SEC also has sought to bar 144 corporate executives and directors from holding those positions in the future, surpassing last year's total of 126, which had more than tripled from two years earlier. In response to questions, Donaldson also was sharply critical of so-called Balkanization of securities regulation. State enforcement efforts, particularly the Wall Street research conflicts settlement spearheaded by New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer, have resulted in overarching rules on the industry A bill pending in Congress would reserve that authority to the SEC. Donaldson spoke out strongly, saying state enforcement in specific cases is vital, but he insisted national standards, set by federal regulators, should govern the industry as a whole. "We cannot tolerate the Balkanization of that," he said. Donaldson said he was sympathetic with concerns that legitimate firms feel "wantonly attacked from all angles by uncoordinated regulators." "Unfortunately, there has been a politicization, if you will, of enforcement in some areas of the country," he said. "I think this is very dangerous." On other issues, Donaldson reiterated that the SEC hopes to consider as early as this month proposed rules that would give shareholders a greater ability to nominate corporate director candidates in contested elections. Donaldson also said the commission staff is likely to make recommendations "in the near future" on enhanced regulation of hedge funds. Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune