Gurbir Grewal, the director of Enforcement at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will depart the agency on Oct. 11 following his time enforcing against the finance and cryptocurrency industries. During his tenure, the enforcement division has authorized more than 2,400 "enforcement matters," resulting in more than $20 billion in disgorgement and penalties.
Under Grewal's direction, the SEC actively engaged in cryptocurrency, with over 100 enforcement actions in 2023 yielding around $4.9bn in cryptocurrency transactions. His resignation comes at a time when there have been many regulatory actions, such as crackdowns on large cryptocurrency trading platforms, including Binance and Coinbase.
During Grewal's term, the SEC aimed to curb the usage of unofficial messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, in finance firms in light of perceived evasions. This crackdown resulted in huge fines on Wall Street firms and, therefore, more focus on compliance enforcement by the SEC.
Moreover, the commissioner, Grewal, is credited with dispersing over $1 billion to whistleblowers to stress that insider information is at the center of the SEC's focus. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has described his approach as one that acted "without fear or favor," following the facts and laws to protect investors and ensure fair market practices.
Following Grewal's resignation, the division's deputy director, Sanjay Wadhwa, will take up the position of acting director. Wadhwa has served the SEC since 2003 and was heavily involved in one of the biggest insider trading cases of 2011, which led to a penalty of $92.8 million—which was one of the largest at the time—against one man.
Scholars such as David Oliwenstein, a former SEC enforcement attorney and a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman caution market participants against looking forward to lenient enforcement under Wadhwa. From a perspective of enforcement, Oliwenstein posited that Wadhwa will be as assertive if not more so than Grewal.