SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami Resigns

SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami officially resigned yesterday, a move which has been widely rumored in the press in recent weeks. Mr. Khuzami served as Enforcement Director for nearly four years, compiling a record of leadership and achievement.

Appointed by then Chairman Mary Schapiro in February 2009, Mr. Khuzami assumed control of a Division with a storied reputation for efficiency and excellence that has been sullied by recent failures. As the worst financial crisis since the great depression continued to unwind, Mr. Khuzami directed the largest reorganization of the Enforcement Division since its creation in the early 1970s. Specialty units were re-introduced and the management structure flattened to put more “boots on the ground.” Expertise was added to the Division’s ranks to deal with the increasingly complex markets, financial products and schemes the Division faced. New cooperation initiatives, borrowed from the Department of Justice and fine tuned to fit the SEC, were added to facilitate the work load of the Division.

By the time of his resignation the impact of Mr. Khuzami’s leadership was evident. Record numbers of cases were filed in the last two years of his tenure. Beyond the statistics there were dozens of market crisis cases, many of which held individuals accountable, major insider trading cases, a significant number of FCPA actions and many cases involving regulated entities. Collectively, these cases reflect the new approach brought to the Division under Mr. Khuzami’s leadership and have done much to restore its reputation.