SEC Charges Silvergate Capital, Former CEO for Misleading Investors about Compliance Program

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Silvergate Capital Corporation, its former CEO Alan Lane, and former Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Kathleen Fraher with misleading investors about the strength of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program and the monitoring of crypto customers, including FTX, by Silvergate’s wholly owned subsidiary, Silvergate Bank. The SEC also charged Silvergate and its former Chief Financial Officer, Antonio Martino, with misleading investors about the company’s losses from expected securities sales following FTX’s collapse. All parties charged, aside from Martino, have agreed to settle the SEC’s charges. According to the SEC’s complaint, from November 2022 to January 2023, Silvergate, Lane, and Fraher misled investors in stating that Silvergate had an effective BSA/AML compliance program and conducted ongoing monitoring of its high-risk crypto customers, including FTX, in part to rebut public speculation that FTX had used its accounts at Silvergate to facilitate FTX’s misconduct.