Sarbox case against Mexican firm settled

The first instance of a foreign company sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Sarbanes-Oxley has been settled. Ricardo Salinas Pliego agreed to pay $7.5 million and will not be able to serve as a director or executive of any publicly listed U.S. company. The SEC charged Salinas Pliego in January 2005 for the sale of improperly discounted debt by one of his companies to another company that he secretly owned. The debt was later paid at full price. There were probably other statutes under which Salinas Pliego could have been charged. I'm not suggesting that Sarbox is the new RICO, but it does seem to have a place in prosecutors' tool kits. Salinas Pliego has already delisted companies from the NYSE, noting "excessive regulation." An understatement indeed.  

For more on this:
- Here's a New York Times article