Many were anticipating an enforcement crackdown by the Securities and Exchange Commission (sec) in the first full fiscal year under chair Gary Gensler and enforcement director Gurbir Grewal, and those expectations were certainly met. In fiscal year 2022, the SEC recovered its highest recorded sum of monetary penalties—US$6.4 billion in civil penalties, disgorgement and prejudgment interest. This was almost double the US$3.9 billion collected in fiscal year 2021, and while the volume of enforcement actions was lower than during pre-pandemic years, 2022 also saw a 9 percent increase over the prior fiscal year.
Source: The SEC scored record penalties in fiscal year 2022