Former SEC Attorney Turns Whistleblower on Hedge Fund Regulation, States Feds Mull New Regs

Well now this is likely to heat up...

Gary Aguirre, the former SEC attorney who headed the investigation into Pequot Capital Management Inc (which is currently facing insider trading charges) has claimed in Congressional testimony that he was told by higher-ups at the SEC to lay off Pequot because the fund's "very powerful political connections" would have made pursuing the case difficult. Aguirre was subsequently fired from the SEC and to say relations between he and his former employer have been...tense...would not be an understatement. Meanwhile, SEC hedge fund regulation seems to be vaporizing in the face of a successful court challenge and both federal and state legislators are rattling their sabers and taking matters into their own hands.

Is a turf war brewing? And what of Pequot?

-- MDT