MERRILL LYNCH <MER> SUSPENDS U.K. MERGER CHIEF
Merrill Lynch and Co <MER> said the
head of its mergers and acquisitions department in London,
accused by U.S. authorities of insider trading violations, has
been suspended from the firm.
    If the charges are true "we are disappointed and angry,"
Merrill Lynch said in a statement. Merrill Lynch said it has
been cooperating with a Securities and Exchange Commission
investigation of the matter for several months. The SEC charged
Nahum Vaskevitch, a managing director of Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner and Smith Ltd, with profiting from inside information
about 12 companies involved in mergers.
    "Merrill Lynch's position is and has always been that
violations of the law are not tolerated," the firm said in a
prepared statement.
    "The apparently illegal trading activity took place away
from Merrill Lynch through another broker-dealer and involved
the employee's use of information which was properly available
to him but improperly used," the statement said. "Merrill Lynch
in no way benefited from the trades."
    Merrill Lynch said Vaskevitch was suspended "when we were
informed of the specific allegations and evidence." The company
did not say precisely when the suspension took place.
 Reuter
