SEC Complaint Alleges Akshay Niranjan Engaged in Insider Trading

Akshay Niranjan (CRD #: 6131787), a broker formerly registered with Barclays Capital, is involved in a pending SEC civil suit, according to his BrokerCheck record, accessed on August 26, 2022. Read on if you have questions about his conduct as a broker.

Pending SEC Action

On July 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Akshay Niranjan and Brijesh Goel, alleging that they conducted an insider trader scheme earning approximately $291,735 in profits.

According to the SEC, Brijesh Goel allegedly received material nonpublic information related to corporate acquisition transactions that his employing investment bank was involved in. He allegedly tipped off Akshay Niranjan (a close friend and foreign exchange trader at Barclays Capital) with information concerning at least four impending corporate acquisitions.

Akshay Niranjan allegedly used this information to trade call options on the securities of the acquisition targets, including Lumos Networks Corp., Patheon N.V., PharMerica Corporation, Calgon Carbon Corporation. 

After these acquisitions were publically announced, Akshay Niranjan allegedly sold, exercised, or assigned these options contracts using an account held in his brother’s name and divided the profits of these trades with Brijesh Goel.

The SEC alleges that Akshay Niranjan violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 forbids the use of deceptive or manipulative practices in relation to the purchase or sale of securities. Rule 10b-5 specifically bans fraudulent schemes, as well as misleading omissions of fact and false statements.

Background Information

Akshay Niranjan has passed the following exams:

• Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
• SIE – Securities Industry Essentials Examination
• Series 7 – General Securities Representative Examination

He previously worked for Barclays Capital (CRD#:19714).

Kurta Law Can Help

If you worked with Akshay Niranjan and you have concerns about your investments, please contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation.

For over 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated on behalf of investors who want to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm and exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf.