Gurbir
Grewal,
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission’s
(SEC)
director
of
enforcement,
is
stepping
down
and
departing
the
agency,
according
to
a
Wednesday
press
release.
Grewal’s
last
day
will
be
Oct.
11.
Sanjay
Wadhwa,
Grewal’s
deputy
director
of
enforcement,
will
step
in
as
acting
director
of
the
SEC’s
enforcement
division
after
Grewal’s
departure.
Sam
Waldon,
who
is
currently
the
chief
counsel
for
the
enforcement
division,
will
be
named
acting
deputy
director.
“We
have
been
incredibly
fortunate
that
such
an
accomplished
public
servant,
Gurbir
Grewal,
came
to
the
SEC
to
lead
the
Division
of
Enforcement
for
the
last
three
years,”
SEC
Chairman
Gary
Gensler
said
in
a
press
statement.
“Every
day,
he
has
thought
about
how
to
best
protect
investors
and
help
ensure
market
participants
comply
with
our
time-tested
securities
laws.
He
has
led
a
Division
that
has
acted
without
fear
or
favor,
following
the
facts
and
the
law
wherever
they
may
lead.”
Under
Grewal’s
three-year
tenure
as
enforcement
director,
the
SEC
authorized
more
than
2,400
enforcement
matters,
leading
to
over
$20
billion
in
disgorgement
and
civil
penalties,
and
handed
out
over
$1
billion
in
awards
to
whistleblowers,
according
to
the
press
release.
In
their
announcement
of
Grewal’s
departure,
the
agency
lauded
his
crypto-related
enforcement
track
record
in
particular,
writing:
“Under
Mr.
Grewal’s
leadership,
the
Division
recommended
and
the
Commission
authorized
more
than
100
enforcement
actions
addressing
widespread
noncompliance
in
the
quickly
growing
crypto
space,
including
against
the
operators
of
the
largest
crypto
asset
trading
platforms
in
the
world
and
the
operator
of
the
largest
crypto
asset
trading
platform
in
the
United
States
for
depriving
investors
of
crucial
investor
protections
by
not
complying
with
the
registration
provisions
of
the
federal
securities
laws.”
The
SEC
has
announced
a
number
of
enforcement
actions
and
settlements
in
the
crypto
space
over
the
past
few
weeks,
ahead
of
the
end
of
the
fiscal
year,
including
eToro,
Mango
Markets
and
Galois
Capital.