SEC Asks Ken Griffin's Citadel to Probe Employee Devices for 'Evidence of Business Dealings on Unapproved Channels'

Per Reuters

The SEC is asking big hedge funds to look into employees' devices to see if there was any "evidence of business dealings on unapproved channels." This news comes after Citadel reported astronomical gains as the top-earning hedge fund of 2022.

Last year, Ken Griffin's Citadel raked in $16 billion in profit, making up almost a quarter of the net gains the fund has accomplished since it was founded in 1990. Amid the massive gains, Griffin's net worth ballooned to $32 billion in the span of just two years.

Citadel's competitor, Bridgewater, could only gain $6.2 billion in 2022, around $10 billion less than the top spot. Ken Griffin's hedge fund reported $62.3 billion in assets under management in 2022.

Citadel made up around two-thirds of the top 20 hedge fund's total profits throughout 2022 at just $22.4 billion. Griffin's hedge fund broke the previous record of $15 billion by John Paulson in 2007, which was the famous bet made against the subprime mortgage which led to the financial crisis of 2008.

In 2022, the SEC fined 16 financial firms $1.8 billion combined for deals and trades discussed through personal devices and apps. This came as part of the agency's probe into making sure that legal practices are still being followed.

Among the 16 financial firms that were fined by the SEC were Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley. Citadel said it had no immediate comment when asked by Reuters regarding the SEC's request.

Ken Griffin previously noted that he is open to serving as the Treasury secretary, but only in case the United States falls into economic trouble. The Citadel CEO also became a GOP $100M midterm megadonor, per CNBC.

Ken Griffin reportedly gave millions to politicians; you can see the data here.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

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