WASHINGTON—The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its enforcement action results for fiscal year 2021, which ended on Sept. 30, reporting it filed a total of 697 enforcement actions (including both federal district court actions and follow-on administrative proceedings). That figure was a 3% decrease from fiscal year 2020.
However, the total enforcement actions results included 434 new actions filed in federal district court or as standalone administrative proceedings, which is a 7% increase over the prior year, the National Law Review noted in its analysis.
The SEC report also shows the agency filed 120 actions against issuers who were delinquent in making required SEC filings, and 143 follow-on administrative proceedings seeking bars against individuals based on underlying criminal convictions, civil injunctions, or other orders.
Wide Range of Issues
Fiscal year 2021 enforcement actions involved a wide range of securities issues, including novel violations in the cryptocurrency/digital asset space and transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), publicly traded companies created for the purpose of acquiring existing private companies, thereby bypassing the traditional initial public offering process.
The SEC also highlighted several “first-of-their-kind actions,” including those involving securities transactions on the “dark web,” alternative data providers, and key rules applicable to municipal securities advisers, National Law Review noted.