A 3rd Goldman banker in 18 months has been accused of insider trading

Associated Press

• Another Goldman Sachs banker was charged with insider trading on Friday, according to court records. That marks the third employee to be accused in the past 18 months.
• Bryan Cohen, a vice president in Goldman’s investment banking division for consumer and retail, has been accused of leaking tips to another trader regarding deals involving Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta and Buffalo Wild Wings, the court records show. 
• The charges come just three months after a former Goldman banker was sentenced to three months in prison for insider trading.
• It also comes more than a year after an ex-analyst pleaded guilty to leaking tips in exchange for NFL tickets. 
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A third Goldman Sachs banker in 18 months has been charged with insider trading. 

Bryan Cohen — a vice president in Goldman’s investment banking division for consumer and retail — was accused on Friday of reaping gains from a scheme that allegedly yielded $2.6 million in illegal profits, according to court records. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that Cohen received compensation for leaking information to an unnamed trader about upcoming takeover bids for Swiss agrochemical provider Syngenta in 2015 and Buffalo Wild Wings in 2017. 

“Cohen directly or indirectly tipped the information to at least one individual who used it to trade securities,” the suit claims. “Cohen expected to, and in fact did, receive cash in exchange for the insider tips he provided.”

Cohen was arrested Friday and appeared in the United States Southern District of New York court. The SEC also charged a Greek citizen and restaurant owner named George Nikas for profiting on the information Cohen provided to the anonymous trader. 

“We are cooperating with the authorities on the situation regarding Mr. Cohen. Protecting client confidential information is our highest internal priority and we condemn this alleged behavior,” a Goldman spokesperson said in an email to Markets Insider. 

The charges against Cohen follow two other instances of insider trading allegations against Goldman bankers in the last year and a half. 

An employee was sentenced to three months in prison in June for earning illegal profits by trading on proprietary information about some of Goldman’s clients. 

Last year, a former Goldman analyst pleaded guilty to leaking tips about upcoming mergers to an NFL linebacker in exchange for tickets. 

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