Goldman Sachs insider trader allowed to leave the United States
Former Goldman Sachs investment banker Bryan Cohen, who was sentenced for insider trading last year, is allowed to leave the United States, according to an order signed by Judge William H. Pauley, III of the New York Southern District Court on March 31, 2021.
The order, seen by FX News Group, notes that Bryan Cohen has completed his 1,500 hours of Court-ordered community service.
On Wednesday, the Court terminated the balance of Mr Cohen’s term of supervised release and directed the United States Probation Office to return Mr Cohen’s passport to him. Cohen is directed to purchase a one-way airline ticket to France and depart the United States as soon as feasible.
As per judgment delivered on June 9, 2020, Mr Cohen was sentenced to imprisonment for a total term of time served, as well as to supervised release for a term of one year. The defendant has to complete 1,500 hours of community service that helps the neediest and most vulnerable segment of the US population.
Mr Cohen had access to material, nonpublic information (MNPI) relating to corporate transactions, and was under duties and obligations to keep that MNPI strictly confidential. He previously worked in the London office of Goldman, and later transferred to its New York office.
Despite his duties to keep the MNPI confidential, between 2015 and 2017, he stole MNPI from Goldman and passed it to a securities trader based in Switzerland in order to enable the securities trader to place timely, profitable trades based on the MNPI.
Mr Cohen informed the securities trader about corporate acquisitions and provided updates about how the deals were progressing over time. Some of the inside information that he provided related to companies whose securities were listed on United States exchanges. The information that Mr Cohen provided ultimately resulted in substantial profits for the traders who received it and traded based on it. In exchange for providing MNPI he stole from Goldman, Mr Cohen received benefits, including cash, from the securities trader.