The DOJ, SEC, Insider Trading, And Data Analysis

A year ago, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") heralded data analytics in announcing parallel insider trading actions against a senior executive at a pharmaceutical company (Viatris Inc.), formerly known as Mylan N.V. ("Mylan"). The SEC asserted that "efforts to conceal the scheme through secure messaging apps and foreign cash payments were unavailing, as this case highlights the agency's ability to use sophisticated data analysis to detect suspicious trading patterns and identify the traders behind them."

Last year's case was against the alleged tippee, this year's against the purported tipper. On November 10, 2022, the SEC and DOJ brought actions against the alleged tipper premised on many of the same underlying facts as the previous case. Neither action reveals on its face whether the second case is the product of traditional investigative techniques, cooperation, or additional date analysis. Here are the facts