SEC Announces Departure of General Counsel Dan Berkovitz
- The US securities regulator, SEC, has announced the departure of General Counsel, Dan Berkovitz, a former CFTC Commissioner.
- Berkovitz will step down in January 2023 and the current Principal Deputy General Counsel Megan Barbero will succeed him.
- SEC Chair Gary Gensler called Berkovitz’s work “exceptional public service” and thanked him for his dedication to the agency.
- The announcement comes after it was revealed that Berkovitz dined with FTX executives in Washington DC.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently announced that the General Counsel for the agency, Dan Berkovitz, will step down from his post in January 2023.
According to the official announcement made by the SEC, the current Principal Deputy General Counsel Megan Barbero will succeed Berkovitz when he leaves.
Notably, before taking over the position as the SEC’s General Counsel on November 1, 2021, Berkovitz served as the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner for three years (from 2018 to 2021). Moreover, he also served as the CFTC’s General Counsel from 2009 to 2013.
Displaying gratitude to the existing General Counsel, SEC Chair Gary Gensler called Berkovitz’s work “exceptional public service” and thanked him for his dedication to the agency. He added:
“Dan has led the Office of General Counsel during a time in which we’ve proposed critical reforms throughout the capital markets. His counsel, judgment, and leadership have been invaluable to our work at the SEC. I have been blessed to work with Dan at two great market regulators, and I congratulate him for his 34 years in public service.”
On the other hand, Berkovitz revealed that he is leaving the agency because he needed to “pursue new and different challenges and opportunities.” He stated:
“It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to work with so many exceptionally talented and dedicated people throughout this agency to contribute to the success of SEC’s mission to enhance investor protection, strengthen our capital markets, and facilitate capital formation.”
Possibly unrelated, the departure comes soon after the recent emails leak by the Washington Examiner revealing that Berkovitz dined with collapsed crypto exchange FTX’s executives in Washington DC, including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Interestingly, the dinner took place a few days before FTX declared bankruptcy.
Though the details of the meeting are still not clear, the emails indicate that the payment was handled by FTX General Counsel Ryne Miller, who then requested $50 from Berkovitz.
It is important to note that the once-leading crypto exchange was known for having good relations with several US regulators before its massive collapse in October this year. The former CEO of the exchange was taken into custody and brought to US soil from where he was granted a bail bond worth $250 million. Interestingly, FTX executive Gary Wang and Alameda Research’s CEO, Caroline Ellison, have both pleaded guilty to criminal charges and are complying with the SEC and other authorities.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
