In a significant development for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Gurbir S. Grewal, the Director of the Division of Enforcement, resigned from his post. Grewal has been at the helm of the department since July 2021 and will officially leave on October 11, 2024. Grewal’s move comes when he was following a very aggressive regulatory policy related to cryptocurrency and Wall Street.
Features of Grewal’s Tenure
During his stint in the commission, Grewal was at the helm of a series of high-profile enforcement actions including some involving major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. Under his watch, the SEC increased crypto enforcement actions to 35 in 2022 and 40 in 2023. His endeavors were critical to cope with cases of noncompliance with federal securities laws and to ensure that market participants conform to tight regulatory standards.
Grewal also spearheaded actions in cases related to insider trading, fraud related to private funds, and gatekeeper failures in the form of audit firms. His efforts on penalty recalibration and holding firms accountable for misconduct issued $20 billion in disgorgement and civil penalties.
Sanjay Wadhwa to Step In
Following the departure of Grewal, the current Deputy Director Sanjay Wadhwa will assume the role of Acting Director. Wadhwa is a 21-year veteran of the commission and has worked closely with Grewal on some of the biggest enforcement initiatives of the SEC. His experience in SEC matters, mixed with leadership, means that the actions of the Commission for enforcement will not be lost but will continue, even as the Commission shows increased interest in some emerging risks in the cryptocurrency market, in accordance with the following.
Grewal’s departure comes at a very critical period in the cryptocurrency world, which has been under increasing, relentless heat from the SEC. His enforcement actions against leading crypto companies like Binance and Coinbase were part of the broad effort of bringing crypto companies into compliance with securities laws in the United States. As Wadhwa takes over, what would be expected is that the SEC does not go easy on crypto regulation anytime soon, but rather keeps up the tough oversight for investor protection.
