SEC officers under criminal investigation on insider trading

Federal criminal authorities are reportedly investigating the case of using insider information at SEC to trade stocks according to the sources familiar with the matter. Two U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees are suspected of participating in having traded in stock of a large financial services company despite being told by another SEC employee of ongoing investigations of that company.

A report of the SEC inspector general says that one SEC attorney under investigation works in the Office of the SEC's Chief Counsel and has access to a tremendous amount of nonpublic information.

An SEC spokesman said: "We take seriously even the suggestion that any SEC employee would engage in insider trading. We note that the inspector general report neither accuses any SEC employee of insider trading nor concludes that any such conduct took place."

It has been the SEC’s priority to figure out those individuals who use nonpublic material information to profit on a company's stock.