The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement Director, Margaret Ryan, outlined the Division’s direction in remarks to the Los Angeles County Bar Association, emphasising a renewed focus on fair process, timely case resolution, and “back to basics” enforcement priorities aligned with the agency’s core mission. The speech highlighted the Wells process as a key procedural safeguard, including a four-week window for potential defendants or respondents to submit arguments before staff recommend charges, and noted that senior Enforcement leadership will attend every Wells meeting and carefully consider submissions. Ryan warned that deliberate efforts to slow investigations, including “tactical tardiness” and other procedural gamesmanship, will not be tolerated. On priorities, the Division will focus resources on high-impact cases rather than case counts, with particular emphasis on retail investor fraud and the use of remedies to return money to harmed investors, alongside continued pursuit of conduct that undermines market integrity such as accounting fraud, insider trading, wash trading, and market manipulation. She also flagged enforcement of non-fraud compliance failures where deficiencies in reporting, books and records, internal accounting controls, fiduciary duties, or financial responsibility rules pose investor or market risks or confer benefits, including the potential for resolutions that both recognise wrongdoing and strengthen compliance.

Original source View in tracker