This month the SEC secured a jury trial victory in its much-discussed “shadow trading” case in SEC v. Panuwat. As we have described in a prior alert, the term “shadow trading” has been used to refer to trading in the securities of one company while in possession of material nonpublic information (MNPI) about a different but similarly situated company (e.g., a competitor with similar characteristics). While SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal1 and others at the SEC maintain that there is nothing novel about the Panuwat matter, this is the first case in which a defendant has been found liable under the anti-fraud provisions of the securities laws for purportedly misappropriating information about a potential acquisition of his employer by trading in the securities of an alleged peer to his employer. Below, we provide a brief refresher on the facts of the Panuwat case and some of the notable procedural history before reviewing the trial itself. Finally, we discuss some important considerations that the Panuwat case highlights—especially in light of the SEC’s trial victory.
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