1. SEC Obtains Asset Freezes Within Days of Alleged Insider Trading by Three Swiss Entities
Home | Previous Page
SEC Obtains Asset Freezes Within Days of Alleged
Insider Trading by Three Swiss Entities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2011-149
Washington, D.C., July 18, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission
today announced that it has obtained asset freezes and other emergency
relief against three Swiss-based entities it has charged with insider trading
ahead of a July 11 public announcement that Swiss-based Lonza Group Ltd
would be acquiring Connecticut-based Arch Chemicals Inc.
According to the SEC’s complaint filed on July 15 within days of the alleged
insider trading, Compania International Financiera S.A., Coudree Capital
Gestion S.A., and Chartwell Asset Management Services purchased more
than a million common shares of Arch between July 5 and July 8, mostly in
accounts based in London, England. Immediately after the acquisition
announcement on July 11, the firms began selling the recently-purchased
shares of Arch common stock for millions of dollars in profits.
Additional Materials
SEC Complaint
According to the SEC’s complaint, at the time the three entities purchased
their Arch shares, they are believed to have been in possession of material,
non-public information about Lonza’s proposed acquisition of Arch.
“The SEC’s swift action to secure a judicial freeze order only four days after
the observation of suspicious trading prevented millions of dollars from
moving offshore,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of
Enforcement.
In filing its complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New
York, the SEC requested emergency relief noting that because the
defendants are foreign entities and placed their trades in overseas accounts,
there was a substantial risk that, upon clearance at U.S. brokerage firms,
the proceeds of the trades would likely be transferred overseas.
The Honorable P. Kevin Castel, acting as emergency judge, granted the
SEC’s requested relief late in the day on July 15. Among other things, the
court’s order froze certain assets of the defendants and ordered repatriation
of all assets obtained from the trading described in the SEC’s complaint. The
court has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing in this matter for July
25 at 10 a.m. ET. The case has been assigned to the Honorable Denise L.
Cote.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Assistant Regional Director
Silvestre A. Fontes, Assistant Regional Director Sandra Bailey, and Senior
Counsel Thomas J. Rappaport with assistance from the Division of
Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit headed by Daniel M. Hawke. The litigation
will be conducted by Michael D. Foster. The SEC acknowledges the
assistance of the FINRA Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence in
its investigation.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-149.htm[28-12-2011 20:00:52]

2. SEC Obtains Asset Freezes Within Days of Alleged Insider Trading by Three Swiss Entities
# # #
For more information about this enforcement action, contact:
David P. Bergers
Regional Director, Boston Regional Office
(617) 573-8927
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-149.htm
Home | Previous Page Modified: 07/18/2011
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-149.htm[28-12-2011 20:00:52]