SEC Document Destruction Policy Suspended
The SEC recently admonished its enforcement staff attorneys to cease any efforts to purge documents from investigative files amidst criticism that the agency wrongfully destroyed thousands of documents related to high profile enforcement matters, including major fraud investigations involving Wall Street banks. The cease order was disclosed in a letter last month from the SEC’s general counsel. The order was precipitated by a whistleblower — long-time SEC enforcement attorney Darcy Flynn — who advised key congressional representatives that the agency had destroyed thousands of investigative files from preliminary enforcement investigations (internally referred to as “MUIs” — or matters under inquiry).