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SEC looking to appeal blocked Citigroup settlement: report

A Citibank logo is seen in the financial district of San Francisco, July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A Citibank logo is seen in the financial district of San Francisco, July 17, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:17am EST

(Reuters) - Enforcement staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission may request the commissioners leading the agency that they appeal last month's rejection by a U.S. district judge of a proposed $285 million settlement with Citigroup, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

In November, Judge Jed Rakoff angrily threw out Citigroup's proposed settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, excoriating the SEC over how it reaches corporate fraud settlements.

Talks aimed at hammering out several other agreements between the agency and financial firms it has accused of misconduct before or during the financial crisis have stalled, people told the Journal.

"Everything's come to a halt because the SEC doesn't know what to ask for anymore in the settlements," one of the people told the newspaper.

If SEC commissioners approve, the agency could appeal the November 28 ruling to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, people familiar with the situation told the newspaper.

An SEC spokesman declined to comment to the Journal on the agency's plans. Officials at the SEC could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Matt Driskill)
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Comments (3)
peterb37 wrote:
Screw the settlements. The SEC shouldn’t be trying to settle these cases. They need to be prosecuting these cases.

Dec 15, 2011 2:44am EST  --  Report as abuse
Mr.Fusion wrote:
Citigroup committed fraud. These should be criminal trials. If the government loses then so be it. If the government wins, then great, let’s send those involved to jail.

The DoJ believes it more important to arrest and jail those using medical marijuana. For the life of me, I don’t see why they can’t also prosecute those who ruined lives. Where are our sense of priorities?

Dec 15, 2011 9:16am EST  --  Report as abuse
pkwhalen wrote:
Why is the SEC trying to let Citigroup off the hook? They should be prosecuting these criminals not finding ways to let them off! This is outrageous!

Dec 15, 2011 10:28am EST  --  Report as abuse
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