Former Prosecutor Khuzami Named SEC Enforcement Chief

A former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Robert Khuzami, has been named enforcement chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Khuzami worked for 11 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, spending part of his time prosecuting financial crimes such as insider trading and Ponzi schemes, according to the Associated Press. He also helped prosecute the “blind sheikh” accused in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Washington Post reports.

Khuzami is currently general counsel in the Americas for Deutsche Bank.

New SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro issued a statement saying she is pleased Khuzami is coming on board ''in such an important role at this crucial time.''

Anthony Ricco, a lawyer who opposed Khuzami in a World Trade Center case, told Bloomberg News that Khuzami will take an active role in his new job. “People on Wall Street better watch out,” Ricco said. “He is a person who really believes in the public good, and those people often make judgments that make Wall Street cringe.”

(Source: Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA, http://www.abajournal.com/authors/4)

Note: Here's hoping that Khuzami can get this important agency back on its feet. We need enforcement in the securities area more than at any other time in the last 20 years.