Overhyped and underdelivered.
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Khuzami Says He Will Step Down as SEC’s Top Enforcement Cop
Bloomberg
Robert Khuzami, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement chief who led the agency’s pursuit of financial crime after the credit crisis, said he would step down. Khuzami said in a memo today announcing his departure that he would remain at the agency for about two weeks. SEC Chairman Elisse Walter hasn’t named a successor.
In a statement, Walter said his “leadership and bold ideas transformed and reinvigorated the enforcement program.”
“We changed the institution we cherish by unleashing a culture of entrepreneurship, encouragement and opportunity that empowers individual staff members to generate new ideas and take ownership of their individual work and performance,” Khuzami said in his memo.
Still, his tenure has seen criticism from lawmakers, judges, investors and at least one current commissioner who have argued the agency hasn’t been aggressive enough in holding top executives accountable for practices that led to a taxpayer bailout of the banking industry.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over SEC cases against Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp., accused the agency of balking at bringing tough cases against high-ranking individuals in favor of reaching expedient settlements.
Commissioner Luis Aguilar, a Democrat, also expressed concern about the lack of financial-crisis cases against executives. “The investing public has a right to expect that government regulators will continue to hold accountable those individuals responsible for misconduct -- and that includes those culpable at the top, not just the flunkies below,” Aguilar said.
Khuzami, in his memo, dismissed much of the fault-finding as “often uninformed criticism” and praised the division’s lawyers for not letting it discourage them.
“It is a testament to your commitment and professionalism that you never permitted those distractions to become obstacles to excellence,” he said.
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Issa v. Khuzami:
Issa questions Khuzami about the Merrill Lynch/Bank of America bailout.
Further reading:
BUSTED: Robert Khuzami SEC Enforcement Chief
Keep in mind that Citigroup was hiding - lying about - $40 billion of sub-prime exposure, and the CFO at the time, Gary Crittenden was fined a paltry $100k for his role in this blatant rape of federal securities law.
Khuzami who once promised to be a tough cop on the beat, allegedly broke protocol, held a secret meeting with his good friend - counsel for Citi - then instructed SEC staff to go easy on Crittenden and Arthur Tildesley, the lying curbskank at the helm of Citi investor relations.
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What Did Khuzami Know About $12 Billion in Hidden Losses at Deutsche?
More evidence that the financial crisis is a legal crisis in drag has emerged with two stories about the hiring of top regulators after they failed to detect massive financial frauds that occurred right under their noses.
First is S.E.C. enforcement head Robert Khuzami. Before becoming top cop at the S.E.C., he was Deustche Bank’s top lawyer while it was concealing $12 billion of losses in late 2008, according to people who worked there.
The gang that couldn't shoot straight.
What Wall Street crook wouldn't be afraid of Khuzami's intrepid team of crime fighters?
