SEC Won’t Charge, Fine Global Crossing Founder

0

After a two-year investigation, U.S. regulators won’t fine or file civil securities charges against former Global Crossing Ltd. Chairman Gary Winnick over disclosure violations.


The Wall Street Journal reported that SEC Chairman William Donaldson and two fellow Republican commissioners had overturned a staff recommendation of charges and a $1 million fine against Winnick, even though Winnick had tentatively agreed to pay a fine. The decision could affect deals the SEC has made with three other former executives of Global Crossing.


While the two-year probe of the company did not discover evidence of fraud or insider trading, it did find that executives failed to provide regulators with adequate disclosure about the transactions.


Global Crossing, which built an intercontinental network of undersea fiber-optic cable in the 1990s, has been the target of an investigation since 2002. After the Internet bubble burst, the company collapsed in 2002 amid $12.4 billion in debt and questions about its accounting practices.

No posts to display