Ex-Goldman banker accused of insider trading scheme sued

420
3
Ex-Goldman banker accused of insider trading scheme sued

A former trader who admitted to a central role in an international insider trading scheme and cooperated with U.S. prosecutors was sued by securities regulators.

None of China Cash Flowed Through the Congo Bank to Former President's Cronies

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Marc Demane Debih, 51, in federal court in New York, alleging he made $49 million by trading inside information and tipping off others ahead of corporate announcements from 2011 to at least 2017. The scheme involved a host of participants, including former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Bryan Cohen, was swept up by the Prosecutors.

Demane Debih pleaded guilty in October 2019 to criminal charges and agreed to help prosecutors investigate the racket. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10 and may indicate that he is completing his cooperation, as he is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10. Prosecutors must file their sentencing recommendation on Wednesday.

The SEC suit seeks a permanent injunction barring Demane Debih from engaging in the transactions, acts, practices, and courses of business alleged against him, as well as an unspecified civil penalty. People accused of criminal securities fraud are subject to parallel civil actions by the SEC.

The lawyers for Demane Debih and the SEC didn't respond immediately to emailed requests for comment on the suit.

Demane Debih's assistance led to the prosecution of at least half a dozen others linked to the scheme. The former Geneva-based trader was a star witness in the trial of Telemaque Lavidas in January 2020, the son of a pharmaceutical company director. Lavidas was accused of leaking company secrets to a friend who passed them on to Demane Debih. He was convicted and sentenced to a year and a day in prison in July 2020.

Tuesday's SEC lawsuit was filed a little more than a week after an Israeli man linked to the scheme, Dov Malnik, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. In February, Malnik and business partner Tomer Feingold, both Israeli citizens living in Geneva, were charged with crimes including conspiracy and securities fraud in a previously sealed federal indictment that was made public in June. Malnik pleaded guilty in June, and Feingold remains at large.

According to trial testimony and court fillings, the banker and Darina Windsor, formerly of Centerview Partners, are among the men who were formerly of Centerview Partners. Taylor and Windsor, a couple who shared a London apartment, were charged by the U.S. in October 2019 and have yet to respond to the allegations.

Cohen, a former Goldman banker, pleaded guilty in January 2020 to passing tips on deals involving Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. and Syngenta AG to Demane Debih, and was sentenced to a year of home confinement.

The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Demane Debih, 21 cv - 10138, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Manhattan None Wildfires Are Getting Worse, and One Chemical Company is Reaping the Benefits.