The U.S. SEC has charged 21 individuals with insider trading across borders, with the case spanning a period of ten years

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has filed lawsuits against 21 individuals, accusing them of participating in a nearly decade-long cross-border insider trading scheme, allegedly profiting millions of dollars illegally by using undisclosed material information leaked by several international law firms.

The SEC pointed out that Los Angeles mergers and acquisitions lawyer Nicolo Nourafchan and his partner Robert Yadgarov organized and operated this insider trading network. Nourafchan is accused of stealing significant non-public information related to more than 12 corporate merger transactions from his law firm clients and leaking it to other participants, who then profited from the trades and returned a portion of the earnings. The SEC also stated that the two recruited another corporate lawyer to continue obtaining and disseminating more merger insider information for trading.

The SEC stated that this enforcement action reflects its determination to "combat large-scale insider trading networks and hold the entire leak chain accountable." Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has filed criminal charges against all individuals involved. Regulatory agencies from multiple countries, including the FBI, the UK's FCA, and Switzerland's FINMA, are also assisting in the investigation.