SEC WINS EXTENSION OF ORDERS AGAINST VASKEVITCH
U.S. District Court Judge Robert
Sweet granted requests by federal authorities for court orders
freezing the assets of former Merrill Lynch executive Nahum
Vaskevitch, who has been charged with insider trading.
    Acting on arguments by the Securities and Exchange
Commission, Sweet issued a preliminary injunction barring
Vaskevitch and other defendants in the case from committing
further violations of U.S. securities law.
    He also issued orders freezing the defendants' U.S. assets,
forcing them to give a full accounting of their assets and
preventing any alteration or destruction of documents.
    The orders merely extend indefinitely the effectiveness of
temporary restraining orders the SEC obtained against
Vaskevitch on March 11, when it charged him with masterminding
an insider trading scheme that netted him and his associates
more than four mln dlrs in illegal profits.
    Vaskevitch, who headed the mergers and acquisitions
department of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Ltd, the
London branch of the brokerage giant, leaked inside information
about 12 companies to his associates, the SEC charged.
    Also charged were David Sofer, an Israeli, and two firms he
and Vaskevitch used. All reside outside U.S. territory.
 Reuter
